Star Wars: My Home Is You
by KLCtheBookWorm
Summary: Mara Jade has gone from wanting to kill Luke Skywalker to accepting his help for her minor problems and reciprocating by saving his life, but where will her loyalties fall when the Emperor Reborn calls her back to his service?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

The Corellian Engineering Corporation YT-1760 light freighter moved steadily toward the jet-black Super Star Destroyer. Unlike the _Executor_ 's arrowhead silhouette, the _Eclipse_ had a wedge-shaped bow perfect for ramming into anything opposing its might. It was also twice the size of Lord Vader's destroyed flagship. The YT-1760—named _Jade's Escape_ according to its transponder code—looked like a grain of sand compared to the _Eclipse_ and didn't fight the locked-on tractor beam.

A battalion of stormtroopers took their positions inside the hangar bay. Two companies lined the walls and the catwalks above, one company took scattered position behind the cover of docked shuttles and other equipment, and the last stood at attention before the platform on which the _Jade's Escape_ would land. The pilot and passengers could not miss the Imperial strength levied against them.

The freighter rose through the hangar bay opening in the bottom of the _Eclipse_. The stormtroopers split, allowing two pale-skinned human men in civilian clothing to approach the _Jade's Escape,_ and then closed ranks behind them. The one with spiky black hair gestured with his right hand. The YT-1760 spun slowly in the hangar bay until the rear of the freighter faced the troops. The freighter settled on its landing gear as gases hissed. The stormtroopers adjusted their grips on their blaster rifles, but didn't leave position.

The entry ramp lowered. The stormtroopers not in formation took aim at the figures leaving the ship. The first was a pale-skinned human man with blond hair darkening to brown. His clefted chin was held high and his expression calm, despite the binders locking his wrists in front of him. Rumor had it that was the same expression the self-proclaimed Jedi wore when he had disembarked on the second Death Star. And his escort at that time had been Lord Vader, a much more fearsome figure than the woman with red-gold hair holding a blaster pistol at his back and balancing a small, dark-skinned human girl on her left hip. A blue and white astromech droid rolled behind them.

His blue eyes flicked over the hangar bay, probably cataloging every enemy he had present. Her green eyes narrowed at the two Force users at the base of the ramp. She jabbed the blaster into the Jedi's blue tunic to prod him down it. Her clipped icy tone rang throughout the hangar bay. "I am the Emperor's Hand. Luke Skywalker is my prisoner and I will present him alive to the Emperor." They stopped in front of the other Force users. "Am I correct in assuming you are my ride to Byss?"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Frangipani ( teagrl) had a Tumblr post (http colon slash slash teagrl period tumblr period com slash post slash 142762636397 slash dept-of-lm-angstfic) that inspired this story. I couldn't stop thinking about the idea, even though I never read _Dark Empire_ in full and never wanted to because I think that's where the EU Legends mis-characterization of Luke Skywalker started. That was my main reason for rejecting me writing this plot bunny: I hadn't read that part of the source material and still don't want to read it.

Eventually, I will learn not to say publicly that "oh I won't write that story idea." Every time I do, I end up writing the story. I made a comment on someone's else fanfic about hated story lines of the EU referencing this idea and how I didn't think I could do it justice because I didn't want any more knowledge of the Byss episode than I had already gleaned from the rest of EU Legends. Besides, I was busy on my _Rescue the Farmboy_ AU. Then came a writing challenge of meeting daily word count goals from a writing encouragement newsletter. The _Rescue the Farmboy_ AU took too much time researching movie scenes at the time, so I decided to outline this Byss AU instead and work on it for two weeks. Then I'll have something to build off of later.

The two weeks got spent only on the outline, and I found myself committed to writing it after. I started writing September 5, 2016, finished the first draft on July 23, 2017, and decided to aim for publishing with _the Last Jedi_ 's premier since getting the edits done is where my drive usually falls flat on its face. Beta reading and editing duties were taken on by Frangipani and my RL friend Suzanne.

Force woo is Frangipani's term for Force powers/meta discussions about the Force. I'm using it as a fandom shout-out. There may be more of those.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**  
 **Twenty-three Days Earlier**

Mara Jade couldn't recall a time when she had ever been happier to ever leave a meeting. She walked as rapidly as she could through the stone-coated hallway from the wood-lined, small assembly chamber. She turned a corner and the hallway ended in the main thoroughfare corridor. It soared up over her head for three stories. The lifts that led higher and lower in the Senate Executive Building were at opposite ends.

How did the New Republic manage to accomplish any governing whatsoever? Shavit, she was so tired of the multiple gravitational pulls from the different personalities. Rowana Dyarron, the Mon Calamari delegate, would not stop poking holes in every concession the group managed to knit together, wanting to prevent all opportunities for criminal behavior before any planetary government or industry shipped with the Smugglers' Alliance. Councilor Sian Tevv supported every idea Mara brought to the table while Tav Breil'lya, the Bothan delegate, objected to them. Lefie Yearvu, the Gran delegate, spent all day today trying to restore the peace that Mazzic managed to upend by showing up yesterday to ask the New Republic negotiators why there wasn't any work ready to go yet. Grand Admiral Thrawn had died six months ago and financial opportunities were being wasted. As if Mara hadn't been stressing that to the committee starting about eight weeks ago.

That reminded her to send a text comm to Mazzic's bodyguard and promise the woman anything to keep Mazzic away from the meetings until they got a signed contract. Karrde would back her up as long as the bribe wasn't too outrageous. Her walk slowed as she focused on that task.

She felt a familiar warmth in the Force and looked further down the corridor she was about to travel through. Luke Skywalker leaned against the wall near the lifts. He wore a black tunic with brown trousers that she hadn't seen on him before, and even though he stood out against the white stone with blue veins, the beings congregating for the lifts ignored him. Her green eyes narrowed. Why was he here? His sister was a reason for him to be inside the Senate Executive Building, but she honestly hoped that Leia Organa Solo went home to her family at a reasonable hour. Not to mention that her office wasn't on this floor of meeting rooms, so Skywalker must be waiting for Mara. She didn't want to be ambushed tonight. She wanted to find food now—the Gran had insisted on working through lunch and the ration bar she had found in her jacket pocket digested hours ago—and to crawl into bed and not come out until the next damn meeting with these beings. Which was only tomorrow afternoon, not nearly far enough away.

She extended a light probe at him, just strong enough to confirm her suspicions and hopefully weak enough to not draw his attention. Eagerness flooded her senses; he was doing a good job with his stoic Jedi expression, but he did in fact want something from her and was excited about it. That probably meant he found some new Jedi thing to share. Mara didn't know whether to sigh or curse. A day of bickering power brokers topped by a guilt trip that she's not learning what all she was capable of. What the Emperor lied and said she wasn't capable of. When she took this job and the lightsaber, she had figured by now work would be organizing shipments and handing out assignments. Instead, they were still working out the contract, so free time to learn Force skills currently didn't exist. Skywalker would just have to accept that.

"Trader Jade?" She turned back in the direction she had come from. Councilor Tevv reached her. "Oh good, I caught up with you. Though I suspect you'd rather be anywhere else in the galaxy than in our meeting room."

"Not that far away, and I should have found a way to keep Trader Mazzic away from the negotiations." Not that she had any idea how she could have managed that, but Tevv was on her side and she needed to keep him there.

"I understand his frustration. It matches the frustration of my constituents who need ships for their cargo." The Sullustan looked down at her with his round, black eyes and grinned under his heavy jowls. "As I see it, the remaining obstacle is Dyarron and her cultural attitude."

Mara kept her weary slump internal along with a small scream of frustration. Dyarron needed dealing with but she wasn't at her best to strategize right now. She didn't dare show that weakness. "I don't disagree with that observation, Councilor Tevv."

She must have leaked some of her frustration through the Force, because she felt Skywalker's mind brush against hers. _Bad time?_ he asked mentally.

"Shall we compare observations over a meal? I feel we are close to a breakthrough."

No more politics, she could not deal with any more politics. _Get me out of this and I'll listen to whatever Force woo you found now,_ she sent to Skywalker while giving Tevv a pleasant smile. "I'd love to, but I'm afraid I have a prior engagement tonight."

Tevv blinked. "A prior engagement? Oh, I hope I haven't delayed you badly."

"Nothing unforgivable yet."

"And I know politicians haven't met a schedule yet they can't destroy," Skywalker said as he joined them. "Hello Mara, Councilor Tevv."

"Jedi Skywalker!" Tevv clasped Skywalker's hand. "I hope you are well. How goes your archive search?"

"Surprisingly unproductive. I'll be heading to other planets with offered archives before much longer. Are you two done discussing things for the night?"

Mara slipped her arm around Skywalker's, linking their elbows. He didn't jump or turn to her in wide-eyed astonishment at the contact, which was perfect since she wanted Tevv to suffer all the curiosity about her and Skywalker's relationship. She had no idea if it would give her an advantage in the negotiations, but Tevv beamed and felt like Karrde did when he had arranged for something that made one of his employees happy. "We're scheduled to resume tomorrow afternoon." She explained to Luke so hopefully Tevv would pick up her unsaid leave my morning alone demand. "How about meeting for lunch before to compare observations?"

"And we'll be sure to fortify ourselves in case Delegate Yearvu wants to keep going through another meal." Tevv nodded. "Meet at my offices at 1200 hours? Excellent," he answered to Mara's nod. "Enjoy your evening." He waved at them as he moved to the lifts.

Skywalker waited until Tevv was out of Sullustan hearing range. "I was going to offer dinner when I saw you. Is that okay?"

"If you want coherent responses from me in the next hour or so, I need food. Make it good food and I might make it back up to pleasant." Her stomach clenched and she ignored it.

He steered them to the lifts and didn't let go of her arm. "I know a place in CoCo Town. The politicians haven't found it yet. I take it you're done with political conversations for the day."

"Yes, I am. Let's get out of here before one of the others finds me." The crowd leaving for the day had thinned out, so she and Skywalker got a lift headed down to the traffic terminal level all to themselves. She breathed easier now that they couldn't ambush her.

"Did you decide to try a hunger strike to make them sign the contract quicker?" He smiled down at her.

"No, and now nobody will suggest that after the Gran made us work through lunch."

"The reason why Leia's so good at projective telepathy." She didn't bother hiding her confused face and he explained. "They have two stomachs and sometimes go days without eating. She was negotiating with them about their entry into the New Republic and got really good at calling to me to bring her food."

"Wish I had thought about that." She should stop leaning on his arm, but today had been so long and she wasn't sure if she wanted to try standing without support right now. He had more muscle tone than she had expected. Supporting so much of her weight didn't shift his arm at all. "Not that I have anyone to deliver me anything."

"No staff?"

"Karrde left it up to my discretion if I needed anybody else. It has been faster for me to depend on myself for what we want out of the contract."

Skywalker made no attempt to take his arm back. "I'd deliver to you."

"I'll hold you to that." The lift opened on the traffic terminal level and she moved with Skywalker to the area set aside for personal airspeeder docking. He opened the passenger door on a closed-top airspeeder. She slipped inside wondering if the vehicle belonged to him or if he rented it for the trip and she didn't care enough to ask as he took the driver's seat. She knew she was in no condition to fight with Coruscant traffic tonight.

"Of course, you'll need to rely on Force woo to ask for anything." Skywalker's tone wasn't quite disapproving, but it wasn't thrilled with what she had said either.

"You're lucky I was that polite," she said with a smirk.

He brought her to a platform large enough for landing strips to act like a two-way surface road for the airspeeders. Smaller buildings were built on platforms like this to take advantage of the elevation without the costs of one of the massive skyscrapers. This platform held a couple of manufacturing plants, office buildings, and two economy class hotels on either end of the platform. The one and two story structures lining the road were lit with neon gas signs proclaiming they were various restaurants. He brought the airspeeder to a free space next to a one-story structure built in the ancient Med'soto style. She followed him to the doors that slid open before them. "Seat yourselves," an older blonde woman called out from the pastry display built into the long bar separating the dining floor from the kitchen.

Neither one had to consult the other before they headed to the last booth next to the kitchen door. Skywalker even let Mara have the front door view. She focused on the transparent data display of the menu. Everything sounded good, which was probably the most obvious sign of how far she'd let herself go. She would pack more ration bars for tomorrow just in case. "Spicy Gargon gumbo and the fried Endorian chicken plate," she told the WA-9 droid that rolled up to their booth.

"I'll have the Gargon gumbo too with a Shawada club sandwich. Better bring us a pot of regular caf and some water, thank you."

The WA-9 droid rolled off on its uni wheel and Mara focused on Skywalker. "What do you have to show me?"

He shook his head. "Not until after you've eaten. It's safer that way."

The droid deposited a carafe of caf, two mugs, and two tall glasses of water before rolling away again. Mara didn't respond until she had a full mug of the hot liquid, inhaled its hint of lemongrass fragrance under the char, and let the swallow jolt her more alert. "I wasn't serious about that."

"No? And here I was thinking lessons in keeping the Wookiee fed applied to more species." He grinned when her eyes locked onto his. "It's not a life, death, or fate of the galaxy thing, just something I found and would like your opinion on. It can wait a bit."

"Something you found in the archives? Why are you digging through archives?" She asked after he nodded. It was common enough knowledge that Councilor Tevv felt safe commenting on it, but she realized she didn't know what Skywalker did with most of his days.

Skywalker gained time by sipping on his caf. "I'm looking for more information on the Jedi. My teachers gave me the bare minimum, focusing on fighting." His right hand tightened on the mug before he set it down. "I found more information on Dathomir, but it's all the basics every Jedi padawan was taught. Filled in some gaps of what I know, but what about the history, the lore, the artifacts? Who would even guess that the Imperial Palace was the Jedi Temple before the Purge if Coruscant residents hadn't confirmed it? I figured we'd eventually find a room full of Jedi stuff that Palpatine kept as trophies. He kept my hand after all."

"If he did keep anything as trophies," and Mara couldn't deny that sounded like something Palpatine would have done, "he moved them out by the time I moved into the Palace. Nothing Jedi has turned up at Mount Tantiss?"

"Nothing yet. The Noghri and Garv Debble all know to look out for anything connected to the Jedi. Doesn't change the problem though. Different Jedi specialized in different things; that's clear from unpurged history. And I don't know what the next level of training is."

"No wonder you're worried about teaching your niece and nephew." The WA-9 slid the soup bowls in front of them without sloshing the contents. Her first spoonful blended the promised spice with the smoky broth. The vegetables, meat, and grains had soaked up the seasoning spices but hadn't been over-cooked.

"Now that they're actually here put a target lock on that problem. Teaching you and Leia isn't as troubling. Both of you will challenge me if you think I'm wrong."

Mara paused before scooping another spoonful. "I thought I'd be back to that before now." She steeled herself for the incoming lecture.

"I'm glad you still want to learn." He focused on the gumbo in his bowl.

She used eating another bite to study him. His farm boy earnestness made reading him easy when he wasn't hiding behind Jedi stoicism. "You think my non-existent free time is a reflection on your teaching skills?"

Now his gaze went to the window beside the booth. "Leia doesn't have any time to learn either."

"Wow. Way to dismiss the duties of the New Republic's Minister of State and Liaison to the Smugglers' Alliance."

"I know it's not fair. That's why I was trying not to bring it up." He huffed and looked back at her smirk. "I know you both have different priorities right now, and they're important. I just need to trust the Force, be patient, and stop worrying that I'm the only Jedi."

"Or you could just ask. Hey Jade, I'm feeling a little insecure about my teaching skills. How would you rate them? I learned more from you during a twelve-day hike on Wayland compared to the years Palpatine raised me and taught me what few tricks I could learn." She jabbed the spoon into the remains of the gumbo in her bowl. "Your teaching is fine; don't worry about it."

"He lied to you about that. You are strong in the Force."

She swallowed another spoonful. "I know but that's not the point. You're a good teacher, Farmboy, only you have way too much time on your hands right now."

"Maybe I should help your negotiation so the contract will get done faster." He dipped his spoon back into his bowl of gumbo.

"I'm not talking about that contract for the rest of the night." Mara scraped the bottom of the bowl for the last spoonful. "My mood is better now, so let's not ruin it."

He smirked. "You sure you don't want me practicing Jedi bargaining?"

"How often does your sister ask for your Jedi bargaining?" He chuckled. "I mean it, Skywalker, stay away." She pointed her licked-clean spoon at him. "I have spent all day soothing all the feelings Mazzic deliberately ruffled. Stay away."

The serving droid returned and delivered their entrees. Skywalker bit back a delighted smile. "What's my absence worth to you?"

"What is this, blackmail? Isn't that against the Jedi code?"

"Not blackmail, blending in with another culture. Everything is for sale in smuggler culture and nearly everything is negotiable. So what's my absence worth to you?" He divided the sandwich that filled the plate in half and picked up the smaller portion.

Mara cut into the breaded with pom seed flour and fried boneless meat. "I'm eating a meal with you."

"You agreed to that when I supported whatever you told Councilor Tevv."

That was true. She followed her bite of chicken with a forkful of mashed orange tuber. What did she have to offer compared to the coffers of the New Republic and what they were willing to pay out to their only Jedi Knight? No favors to be cashed in at a later date, those always came back to bite you in the ass at the most inopportune times. And she wanted something out of this too. "Okay, I can give you my free morning, the one I just pried out of those diligent, hard-working bureaucrats on the committee for tomorrow, to teach me more Force skills. I was planning to book a massage at a spa, so you better make it worth my while."

The intent hadn't been to shock him, so it was a nice bonus to see his head jerk up and his blue eyes widen. And she felt the wave of delight that the she wants more training shock turned into before he tightened his mental shielding. "That's an acceptable trade."

"Good." She speared the steamed vegetable that looked like a miniature tree with her fork. "Now, I think I have eaten enough to forestall a Wookiee rampage, so what do you have to show me?"

He pulled a datapad from a pouch on his belt and slid it across the table to her after he opened the file he wanted. It showed the image of an ancient—aged to a tan color—flimsi with torn edges and holes. She didn't recognize the language that was written in faded ink and a splotch of ink obscured the words at the bottom. A translation of the flimsi was provided under the image.

[words too faded to make out]  
[words missing thanks to flimsi damage] created  
a bond beyond all bonds.  
Kum Nagma left Above the Clouds  
And still the bond endured  
[words untranslatable] Fovi Vaggil  
No matter the distance.  
[words too faded to make out]  
All the [word untranslatable]  
[words missing thanks to flimsi damage]  
All the emotions  
All the knowledge  
Shared between the two Jedi  
[words untranslatable]  
This bond lasted until  
Kum Nagma [words missing thanks to flimsi damage]  
Fovi Vaggil never formed another.

"You haven't found another reference to 'a bond beyond all bonds' in what else you've collected?" she asked.

"No." Skywalker wiped his hands on his napkin. "Plenty of references to training bonds, but this sounds like something beyond that."

Mara thoughtfully chewed on the first bite of her third piece of chicken. "It sounds like a training bond with that bit of 'all knowledge shared.' Where did you find it?"

"In a collection of folklore compiled before the Clone Wars. The author did consult the Jedi Order's Chief Librarian at the time, a Jocasta Nu. She said it was probably a training bond or telepathy that the poet exaggerated."

She cut her remaining chicken. "That may be the simplest answer."

He poured himself another mug of caf. "I know, but I have a feeling there's more to it than that."

"What does Leia say about it?"

"I haven't shown it to her yet. I wanted your opinion first." He squirmed slightly under her gaze. "I've taught Leia everything she knows."

"But the Force may offer her an insight it doesn't give you."

"I know. We're having dinner in two nights; I'm showing her then."

Okay if he really wanted the opinion of a Force user not trained only by him, she would give it to him. "No, it doesn't describe the leash the Emperor implanted in my mind. He hid things from me. This sounds like information is a dual connection."

He flinched from her cool tone. "That wasn't what I was thinking. It wasn't. I was hoping that maybe he or my father discussed it with you or around you." His voice trailed off before he shook his head. "And this is when you tear my optimism apart."

She could be kind about it. "It wasn't like that, growing up in the Palace. The Emperor was the only one who taught me anything about the Force, and always paired with with how I wasn't strong enough but he could work his power through me. Vader detested me and we spent as much time as we could avoiding each other."

"And while Palpatine was disdaining what you are capable of, he didn't bother teaching any of the control skills that would have made—"

"Me a better assassin?" Her interruption stopped Skywalker's defense of her past self before he worked up indignity over what Palpatine had done. It was so strange, he didn't approve of her killing people but he was always more upset that her training had been tampered with. Tonight wasn't the night to figure out what prompted Skywalker's oddities. "What do you mean by control skills?"

It never took much prompting to get him to share. "Force skills are divided into control, sense, alter, and combinations of those three. Control over one's inner Force, mastery of the body, and harmony with nature. Sense the Force in other things beyond your body, feel the bonds that connect all living things, and understand how all is interconnected. Alter the distribution and nature of the Force, move things with your mind, help others control their own Force, or change the Force in your own body." He picked up his mug. "Palpatine skipped over nearly everything in one section."

"To keep me weaker." She hadn't meant to say that, but it was most likely true. "The past is done, I can only move forward now." She pushed the datapad back across the table. "That doesn't give you any ideas on how to make 'a bond beyond all bonds'."

"No, but I'd settle for telepathy that stretches across the galaxy."

"With the way you get in over your head, I can see the appeal." He gave her smirk a look of disdain. "Is it a difference between Sith and Jedi?"

"Not with the basics. Master Yoda explained that there are some skills that are automatically evil if you use them. Everything else depends on your motives. Healing trance on yourself isn't automatically evil but I can't see a Sith not learning it for their own benefit."

"Healing trance? Didn't you put me into one after Wayland?" He nodded. She frowned as she considered that. "Neither the Emperor or Vader ever tried to heal me."

"Bacta is quicker."

"But you don't always have bacta."

"Exactly." He broke off to smile at the older human woman approaching their booth. "Yes?"

The woman who had greeted them when they entered the restaurant smiled apologetically. "The Delron factory is about to let out. If you're not interested in dessert, I really need your table for the rush."

Skywalker glanced at his chrono while Mara did the same. "Lost track of time. Do you want dessert?" Mara shook her head when he looked up and reached for her credit chip. "Okay, I'll pay for both meals. Least I can do for keeping you out so late." Mara let him; it would make her story that Skywalker asked her to dinner better, not that she expected anyone to check that closely.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Jedi Skywalker — Jedi Knights need a title to differentiate them from Jedi Masters, but I'm not fond of the solution of copying "Sir" which was the honorific given to knights on Earth. So I went with using Jedi, especially for non-Force sensitives who couldn't be positive as to the status of the Jedi (Is this lady in the brown robe a Knight or a Master?) I'm not overly fond of the use of Master, but movie canon has saddled us with it. You made up Padawan but didn't even try for something new with Master. *eye roll*

If this story has any sequels (no promises for or against) that carry on into the building of the New Jedi Order, I might have Luke come up with a term from his culture of origin for a Knight as well as replace Master with something not associated with owning sentient beings.

Why I tagged this story as a fix-it fic is not for me fixing what I saw as issues in the original Byss storyline, but how I ended up tweaking preceding canon in little ways. No reasons that actually affect the plot, but this is what Author's Notes are for. This is the first one. I love the matriarchal cultures of Dathomir and Hapes; not so happy with how OOC all the characters are in _the Courtship of Princess Leia_ (Luke maybe should mention that Leia is his sister to Isolder or at least think about mentioning it is the smallest example of those). But I love the Dathomir witches and the original Nightsisters (Why did _Clone Wars_ take one without the other?) and the glamor of isolationist Hapes. So here's the way I think that story went down without rewriting it. Leia did her diplomatic duty to get Hapes to join the New Republic and Isolder got it in his head to marry her. New Republic government and Alderaanian survivors play on Leia's sense of duty a little too hard. She doesn't owe the Hapans anything and goes to Han because she loves him and they're partners. (And Leia was always going to marry for love, even if Alderaan had never been destroyed and the Organas insisted on a political match. She's gets it from both Padmé and Anakin.) Han won Dathomir in a sabacc game, and offers it to her for a new Alderaanian home world. Leia decides to check this planet out and get it away from Warlord Zsinj while everyone in the New Republic stops trying to auction her off. They take off. Luke has a vision that they are in terrible danger and works his way into Isolder's saving the Princess party, because Leia must have been forced to leave his fabulous proposal and his awesome self by that pirate turned General. Ta'Chume tries to have Luke assassinated because of the anti-Jedi thing Hapans have. Adventures on Dathomir proceed according to the book, with added emphasis on Isolder's worth comes in a far second compared to the Jai for the Witches and he makes himself worthy of Tenniel's love, ending with Tenniel Djo and Isolder off for wedded bliss in Hapes and joining the New Republic, and Leia and Han getting married before they get back to Coruscant. And Luke doesn't miss the wedding ceremony of his sister and his storm-brother for a stupid joke.

I'm using West End Games as the source of Force Woo, because it is the system I played in. I have no idea how the current roleplaying game handles the Force. However, I have reserved authorial right to change things if needed. Namely, I have _the Thrawn Trilogy Sourcebook_ and I disagree with the Force skills they selected for Mara when they made her stats. They claimed to have only given her Force powers she had demonstrated but the text of the novels doesn't support the eight skills they picked that fall under Control. I did give her Affect Mind (even though I can't remember seeing her use it in the text) because it seems creepy enough to appeal to the Sith. Mara's connection with the Emperor was not a bond of any sort in this story, but projective telepathy from him that she is super skilled in receptive telepathy to pick up and his conditioning her to never raise her mental shields to him.

And I have never really bought Mara's running away from more Force training in Legends canon. The final step of becoming a Jedi, yes; the servitude of the galaxy after realizing what Palpatine had done with her loyalty is a step too far. But with how she hones all her other talents I don't think she'd ignore her Force abilities.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

They left as shift workers began crowding into the restaurant. Air traffic was the same level as busy, which Skywalker sighed over. "I like Coruscant, but I miss being on a planet that follows a diurnal schedule."

Mara shifted in the passenger seat to watch his profile. "I don't think your sister would want you staying close to her if it makes you miserable."

"It's not just staying close to Leia, Han, and the twins. I'm not miserable, but I probably need a vacation from the population." He maneuvered the airspeeder into the skylane heading straight to the Imperial Palace.

"So where's the first off-planet archive you're headed to?"

"Obroa-skai had a Jedi Academy at one time. Maybe some cross-references still exists in their surviving archives. I was told an early Empire rumor that Arkinnea had a Jedi Temple and it's in undisputed New Republic territory. I also want to go to Dorin, but that'll have to wait until the military or the diplomatic corps wants me to go."

"Never been to Arkinnea. Do let me know if it's nice." She stretched out her legs, too much sitting today and her muscles felt tight.

His larynx bobbed as he swallowed. "You're welcome to come with me."

How was it that more people did not take advantage of Skywalker's generous to a fault nature? "I have to work and your X-Wing doesn't seat two."

"When you're ready to abandon the committee to their fates, I'll find something roomier for us to travel in."

"Abandon?" Her smile felt wicked. "Karrde or your sister will probably pay you to drag me off because I'm dropping the committee into the nearest black hole. Actually, I should find out who's supposed to ratify the contract, black hole the committee, and tell them everything has been worked out."

He grinned. "They'll be missed."

"Small price to pay for normalized shipping."

"How about disappearing them where they won't be crushed to death? Echo Base on Hoth is mostly in one piece."

"Weren't you almost eaten on Hoth? Or was that something the entertainment industry dreamed up?"

"They didn't exaggerate it much. One wampa not two and it was eating my tauntaun instead of fighting over me when I got my lightsaber and cut myself free. I don't know if I even killed it while I got away. Han said the finding me delirious in the snow scene was the most accurate thing he's seen in all the stupid holodramas about me. I guess they didn't feel the need to improve that."

"What did the committee do to you that makes you want to put them on an ice-covered rock where you almost died?"

He pulled the airspeeder into one of the residential hangar bays inside the Imperial Palace. "Is 900 too early for you? I have the gymnasium in my residential section to myself from then until early afternoon."

"That's fine. I'll meet you there." She left him with the hassle of returning the borrowed speeder and headed to the lifts. He had chosen the hangar bay closest to her section. Maybe after that large of a sandwich, he felt the need to walk. She didn't question her good fortune in the short ride and walk through the hallways to her provided quarters. It wasn't in the same section as the permanent residents but it was on a different level and side from the one the New Republic had put her under house arrest in after Thrawn's kidnapping attempt of the Solo twins. She was glad for the change of scenery. It meant someone in the New Republic was sensitive to how she would perceive the same view out the window. One of the walls in the parlor of the apartment was covered in fijisi wood paneling, so she didn't even have to give up that. Its fragrance wafted to greet her at the main door as she entered her rooms.

She shrugged off her jacket and hung it in the coat closet inside the foyer while she gazed at the view out the parlor windows. Nothing tempted her to move further into that room and nothing leapt to her gaze as a security concern. She double checked the locks on her door and headed to bed.

* * *

Straps around her wrists, forearms, biceps and shoulders fastened her outstretched arms to a pole of scarlet greel wood. Cables at both ends, out of reach of her flexing fingers, suspended the pole from the ceiling at a height where her feet couldn't touch the floor. Energy cuffs circled her ankles and she could feel the heat from the beam that held her stretched-apart legs to the floor. Syntherope cinched around the base of each breast and wrapped around her throat so moving her head tugged the restrained tissue. Her red-gold hair spiraled around her head in a version of the Alderaan crown hairstyle. Her eyes were uncovered and her mouth not gagged.

The spotlight focused down on her nude body and obscured the rest of the room in shadows. One of Anor's parties with her as decoration and entertainment, no doubt. She heard the murmur of out-of-earshot conversation and the clinking of silverware over her ragged breathing. No music, because Anor claimed it distracted attention from the true entertainment.

She knew the routine: give them the performance that they coaxed from her body, enjoy what felt good, ignore what hurt. Being exactly what Anor desired was something her Master wanted her to learn. The training was almost over. Her ability to project submission and how she could reverse the tactic to dominate the other slaves when he commanded her to captivated Anor. She could assume any role her Master needed her to take. No seduction technique or demand was beyond her capabilities. What else did she need to learn?

A party guest stepped into the light. Mara recoiled from the red uniform she saw first, but there was nothing for her to push back against. Ysanne Isard stroked Mara's cheek. Mara dangled in the air eye-level with the taller woman. "I can't delve into your mind for what I want." Two fingers of Isard's other hand penetrated Mara's slit. "But I can delve here for everything." The red eye and blue eye gleamed as Isard's cruel smile grew wider.

"No!" Mara screamed as she thrashed. The movement did nothing to dislodge Isard's hand.

A lash tore across Mara's back, followed by another one against her buttocks, against her shoulders, her back again, straight down her spine. It wasn't Anor's primitive leather whip; someone was using a neuronic whip on her. The screams tore out of her throat. The lashes stopped and Isard pressed her thumb onto Mara's clit. Her scream became a wail.

Anor pressed up against her back, resting his chin on the pole right next to her neck. "Naughty kriff-toy, you said the bad word. You make Him unhappy when you say the bad word."

Mara twisted her head away from Isard's smirk and Anor's hot breath. A pair of yellow eyes gleamed in the shadows, the eyes she knew so well, the eyes she wanted to make gleam with pride not malice. "Master, please!"

"Please punish you more, kriff-toy?" Anor said. More hands grabbed her, pinching and pulling. "Of course, we'll punish you until you never say no again." The lash hit her again, sending waves of pain crashing against the hands tearing her flesh. She swayed with their tugs and tried to heave more momentum into the movement. Escape, she had to escape. Safety was somewhere in the galaxy away from those malicious yellow eyes.

She heaved again and wrenched herself upright in her bed. All she could hear was her heartbeat thudding in her ears and her pants that didn't fill her lungs. Sweat glued her pajamas and sheets to her skin. She stared out the bedroom window at the streaks of lights driving in the skylanes.

Ysanne Isard, what the hells was Iceheart doing in her dream? Mara pressed a hand against her chest to slow her breathing. Isard had never attended any of Anor's soirees; she had considered them debauch compared to what she could brainwash out of prisoners. As well Mara knew having experienced the _Lusankya_ 's hospitality after the Emperor's death. And it didn't matter in the slightest because the schutta was dead. At the last celebration, Mara had bought the Rogue Squadron a round of drinks for whatever the New Republic flyboys did to Isard that was still classified. Her subconscious had to stop inviting dead people to parties it insisted on recreating and twisting into nightmares.

And it really needed to get over the training Bendak Anor had provided. Really, these nightmares were becoming as big a nuisance as he had been in person. She knew from experience there would be no more sleep tonight. If she tried, there would only be a different variation of immobility and violation waiting for her once she fell asleep. The windows let in enough of the Coruscant night lights that she didn't bother to illuminate the bedroom as she tore away the clingy bed linens and stomped her way into the kitchen.

Bendak Anor, the coward, had fled Coruscant when the New Republic conquered it. Isard was dead. Just because Mara was slightly stressed by the unending committee meeting was no reason for her subconscious to focus on training that was finished thirteen years ago. The caf distiller happily accepted her stabbed-in directions and gurgled as she put her back against the nanowave stove and watched the doors of her quarters. Shavit, her subconscious really didn't need to add Iceheart to the mix. What's next, the damn committee knotting rope around her entire body? Skywalker—she sliced through that thought with a mental lightsaber. She had had enough nightmares of Luke Skywalker to last her the rest of her life. No point giving her subconscious ideas.

Caf, followed by a shower to wash the phantom hands off her skin, and then more caf with what food she could force down. This routine was getting far too much practice for her liking.

* * *

Luke's meditation this morning didn't have him plunging into the deep end of the Force, as Han put it. Sunlight streamed into the lofty room through the wall of transparisteel and through the variety of exercise equipment lined up in front of it to give the users a view while they exercised. The large floor mat filled the corner between the window and the mirrored interior wall. The warmth of the light brushed against the sleeveless undertunic on his back.

He was well aware that his lack of concentration was due to constant thoughts of Mara Jade. Eventually, he accepted them as he sat cross-legged on the mat while he waited for her to arrive in the gymnasium. He hadn't wanted to make a nuisance of himself. After all, she was dealing with big adjustments with revelations on her personal history and professionally. Karrde's organization and its cobbled-together alliance and the New Republic's demands over shipping both put so many responsibilities on her. Not fighting Wedge's promotion to leading the Rogue Squadron and hiding in Ben's hut on Tatooine after learning the truth about his father was the only equivalent he found in his own life, and it didn't compare nearly as well as to how Mara was handling her own upheaval.

So he had hung back, seen her at award functions and celebrations they had both been invited to, let her decide when she was ready for more training. And let himself dream up some erroneous conclusions. He shouldn't have taken neither her nor Leia's lack of time personally, not after Leia snapped at him that she didn't even have time to breastfeed her babies. His closed eyes winced at the memory of that conversation.

But the not pushing had worked. Dinner last night had reminded him of the better parts of Wayland and rescuing Karrde from the _Chimera_. What surprised him was how much he had missed Mara over the past six months. He liked her. She was smart and resourceful, with a mental and emotional toughness he could rely on, plus she had a sharp humor and irreverence that made for a refreshing contrast with the automatic and unthinking awe too many people held him in these days. She was strong and capable in the Force, and didn't consider his abilities wrong. He admired her tenacity. And now that the lies the Emperor had told her were exposed and she didn't feel a compulsion to tell everyone how she was going to kill him, friendship wasn't so impossible. She could use more friends, instead of co-workers and committee members she wanted to strangle.

He felt her approach down the hall, but something felt off. He opened his eyes when she opened the door and recognized all the signs as she skirted around the exercise equipment to the open space next to the window. Circles under her eyes, jittery from far too much caf, and a scowling frown already twisting her face. He had seen it on countless faces over his years of active service. "I don't want to talk about it," Mara snarled as she approached the large tumbling mat.

"Nightmares?" He set aside his plans to show her escape techniques today. If she hadn't slept at all, it would hurt more. He also set aside how pleased he felt to see the lightsaber he had gifted her hanging from her belt.

"Does not wanting to talk about it mean keep digging for information on Tatooine, or did you learn it somewhere else?"

"I wasn't asking for details. I have a technique I use when my nightmares keep me from sleeping. You can't rely on it forever, eventually you have to sleep, but it works to get me past the nightmare trigger. If it's nightmares for you, we can work on that today."

Her green eyes tried to focus on him but it was a fight. "You get nightmares?"

"Saving the galaxy from evil is no guarantee against nightmares." And he was not telling Mara that the image of her writhing in pain from C'baoth's Force Lightning had been added to his catalog. She'd probably demand that he erase it somehow.

She shook her head as she toed off her shoes. "Sorry. I assumed and I shouldn't have. But the only time I have ever seen you rattled was when you woke up on Myrkr. And that lasted all of five minutes." She sank gracefully to the mat with crossed legs. "So what do you suggest, that hibernation trance you use during hyperspace jumps?"

"From experience, you don't dream in a hibernation trance but they'll wait for you until you try to sleep normally again." He had freaked out Leia, Han, and Chewie experimenting with that right after Bakura. "What I stumbled upon was removing the body's fatigue with the Force while I meditate."

"So it's not something one of your Jedi mentors taught you?"

"Master Yoda taught me to remove fatigue from specific muscles during a battle or when you need to keep a certain level of physical exertion. But I realized fatigue was also caused by lack of sleep and I had to be at my best before we flew again and since I wasn't sleeping why not meditate while I tried to remove fatigue from my whole body. Not only did I not drown myself in caf the next morning, the nightmare cycle interrupted and I slept without dreaming the next night."

Mara slowly blinked at him. "Right now, that sounds more useful to me than lifting rocks. I can't be stupid because of no sleep meeting with Tevv and the committee. Show me."

Luke smiled. "Meditate and then I'll form the training bond." Her freckled nose wrinkled, but she shut her eyes and evened out her breathing. She was so close to utter exhaustion that if he delayed, she'd probably fall over into sleep and into the clutches of her nightmares. He set his hands on his thighs, closed his eyes, and reached out to her with the tendril of the training bond. It latched into place in Mara's mind as easily as the ones he had made on Wayland had. Her questioning presence waited and then followed as he demonstrated the technique on her right foot. She faltered a bit on her left foot but by the time they reached her low back, Luke didn't have to correct any mistakes. He stayed present and answered her questions as the Force re-energized her tired muscles climbing up her body.

 _The same way on my brain? It's not a muscle._ She hesitated pushing up from her neck.

 _The same way; the Force knows the difference. I'll let you go alone now._ He retreated back to his own self and dissolved the training bond. He didn't want to share his nightmares and Mara had flatly said she didn't want to talk about hers. He opened his eyes.

The circles were less pronounced under her fluttering eyelashes. She breathed in deep before slowly opening her eyes. "It feels like I just woke up." She sounded amazed by that and Luke wondered just how long a good night's sleep had been eluding her.

It wouldn't do any good to harp on that. "I'm glad we've confirmed it works and it isn't a weird coping strategy I came up with. I usually drop into it right after a nightmare has woken me up."

"And stay in meditation all night?" She stretched her arms over her head.

He shook his head. "Mine tend to hit after midnight before dawn, so a few hours of meditation. And meditation is important to strengthen your connection to the Force."

"Right. You've probably saved a bunch of politicians' lives today by getting me off the edge. I won't tell them if you won't."

"You're not going to kill your committee. They can't suffer on Hoth if you kill them."

"You seem to be under the impression that I care about their suffering, Skywalker. I care about how they're impeding my work." She twisted and looked at the chronometer mounted above the door. "I have to go so I can make the meeting with Tevv."

He rolled to his feet, the loose workout trousers making the move easy. "Mara, have you considered making yourself less available to the committee?"

She uncurled her legs and stretched them out in front of her. "Do you want me to skip out on my responsibilities to learn more Force skills from you?"

"Yes and no."

"It can't be both, Farmboy." She moved to the mat's edge next to her shoes.

"No, I don't want you to skip out on your responsibilities. You should tell the committee to stop stalling like a Jawa who can't crank the sandcrawler engine because you have other things to do with your time."

"Like learn the Force from you."

"That's the yes part. There's more for you to learn and I'd like for you to teach me your mental shielding techniques. But as far as goading the committee into actually finishing its job, you could take up planetary couriering for Karrde instead."

She stopped pulling on her shoes. "You want to learn from me?"

Luke paused, unsure about the note in her voice. "Yes. Haven't I told you how good your mental shielding is?"

"You've neglected to mention it until now. When did you notice my mental shielding?"

"After you got me off Jomark. You didn't want to talk unless it was the plan to get Karrde out, so I didn't mention it." She had threatened to restrain him and put the ysalamir in his lap if he didn't stay out of the cockpit. He had complied, needing time and space to think about his disaster with C'baoth.

"I was wrapped up so tight then." She snorted before standing up. "That's not what I thought you'd make a trade about, and it's still pretty uneven in what I'm learning from you."

"It's not uneven; I'm learning how to teach from you too." It wasn't just a trade of information, but he felt a warning in the Force. Mara wasn't ready to hear friendship, not between them. He reached down for his own shoes. "I don't like tracking who owes what. Just think about the offer and the goading. I don't know the committee like you do. It might not work."

"Your opinion might work on Dyarron, the Mon Calamari," she said thoughtfully. "But Tav Breil'lya hasn't given me the impression that he cares what humans much less Jedi think."

A story Leia had told him sprang forward in his mind. "He's one of Fey'lya's aides. He's been giving you trouble?"

"I haven't had an idea he likes yet and I have no idea why."

"Fey'lya wants to punish Karrde and you're one of Karrde's people. Leia told me Karrde twisted the Councilor's arm to get paid to destroy Mount Tantiss before they chased after us. Karrde didn't tell you?"

Her pink lips curled up and Luke wasn't sure who to feel sorry for: Breil'lya or Karrde. "No, he didn't. I can use that. I'll comm you later if a new schedule goes through."

"Okay." She vanished through the door before he finished pulling on his boots. Did she just agree to more training? Why else comm him later? He grinned. Taking her out last night had been the best idea he had in a long time.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I'm going with the Rogue Squadron killed Isard at the end of the Bacta War because that was what I remembered when I plotted this story. Wookieepedia explains that my memory was wrong and she causes further trouble in other books, but I don't think I read those. I have enough villains without Isard regardless.

 _She was smart and resourceful..._ — Yes, I quoted Timothy Zahn's _Vision of the Future_. Cookies for everyone who recognized it. The _Hand of Thrawn_ duology has a special place in my heart despite Zahn's inability to write romance (exhibit A. the lack of Han and Leia special moments in the Thrawn Trilogy, exhibit B. how Luke and Mara finally get engaged in the duology). I've mentioned in various comments how I gave up on EU now Legends and can point to the books that did it, but really it all boiled down to Luke's portrayal. I was high school senior then college freshman so I lacked the vocabulary and skills to dissect why it was so wrong in the text and summed it up "they keep getting Luke wrong. I'm not giving them any more money."

So the year after I made that vow, my good friend and fellow Star Wars junkie who was our group's GM forced the duology into my hands over a semester break. "Zahn fixes it. Zahn fixes Luke; it's all the Dark Side's fault." I wish now that Luke could have admitted how jealous he was over Lando with Mara in the text and that we actually got some romance without Force short cuts, but I was so grateful for an explanation for all the bad Luke characterizations at the time I can't hate the books. It probably helped that it's also all blamed on _Dark Empire_ , which is where I think the Luke characterizations started on the wrong tracks.

So why this quote in particular? I like this list of things Luke admires about Mara because they're all her inner qualities.

 _She was strong and capable in the Force, and didn't consider his abilities wrong._ \- Yes, that was a little slam against Gaeriel Captison. I like her though, but I like her better as a you're-very-attractive-but-our-core-values-don't-mesh former love interest. Who isn't killed to cause Luke more manpain.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Bendak Anor retreated to his on-board office after authorizing the yacht's captain to give the crew shore leave in Chalcedon's spaceport. The weekly report from his Coruscant agent was due now that they had landed. He sat in the conform-seat behind his greel wood desk and waited for the larger holofile to finish downloading to his unit. Krill Senth Cresh had delivered a catalog of their current merchandise as soon as he had landed, so he perused that. He sneered at their pathetic human offerings. Nothing with the possibility of being delectable after much work in his preferred age range. And all they had under his age range were infants for all purposes. He had no desire to own a slave for a decade or longer before it could serve his needs. So this trip would only be another procurement errand.

The HoloNet chimed that his holovid had finished downloading. He set aside the catalog and focused on the projection. The face of his agent Sarskokrour Jus appeared first. The blue tint of the hologram disguised the redness of the Nikto, but didn't affect the leathery and scaly texture of his skin and didn't hide the eight horns that protruded around his face. "The target expanded her excursions this week. She is still living in the Imperial Palace and goes to the Senate Executive Building every day, but she has cut back her hours spent there. She has started taking meals in various restaurants available in the district and CoCo Town, midday and evening in the company of Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker. He has not been added to the New Republic committee that she has been working with for the past six months. He is present in the attached spy droid footage. She also accompanied Councilor Sian Tevv to the inaugural performance of the Galaxies Opera House. The spy droid footage shows that Skywalker attended the same performance with Minister of State Organa Solo and her husband and approached the target during intermission. The two parties combined for an after-performance meal, and well, you'll see the footage for yourself but it looks like Tevv and Solo conspired to put the target and Skywalker in an airspeeder taxi alone. Message me if you want to change the parameters of this job."

Anor scowled as the fly eye droid footage began to play. His kriff-toy—the best one he had ever trained—greeted a fair-skinned, nondescript, young man dressed all in black on the plaza outside the Senate Executive Building. She was still wearing the utilitarian jumpsuits, tunics, and trousers that covered up too much of her creamy skin. But they were tight enough to display the curves that had filled out on her lean body since Palpatine took her away. The same young man was with her in the next footage. Both of them seated at the same table in a casual restaurant, enjoying the company of the other. So that must be the infamous Luke Skywalker, hero of the New Republic. The actor portraying him in the holodramas had more gravitas than the actual. What was his kriff-toy getting out of this association?

That question could be expanded to what she was doing with the New Republic at large. She had helped them defeat Grand Admiral Thrawn and took this position as a liaison between smugglers and the government, why? Her loyalty was absolute. The things he got her to do just by whispering "the Emperor wishes it" in her delicate ear; the memories were still arousing, helped no doubt by the close up of her smirking face provided by the spy droid. It focused on Skywalker's abashed expression next. What the hell did she find appealing in that, a chance to corrupt the religious? Was it all a ploy so she could go home to Coruscant after Isard chased her from it?

Damn Iceheart to all the Corellian hells! That power-mad ronk had thrown off all his plans in her quest to become Empress. Without the Emperor, his kriff-toy would have returned to his tight grip, she needed a master. She had forgotten about him and his protection as she fled Isard's pursuit. He hadn't a chance to even offer it before she was gone and the Rebels were at Coruscant's planetary shield. Three and a half years later, she had finally resurfaced, reclaiming the name assigned to her by Palpatine, and aligned with the New Republic and Talon Karrde, smuggler and information broker.

Jus had looked into Karrde and discovered the man did not play the control games Anor's kriff-toy needed. Anor scowled harder. Getting her back from a Hutt would be simple. He didn't have the resources to leverage a man like Karrde, who by all reports never abused his employees. Where was she getting her sexual needs met?

The recorded footage had reached the inaugural performance of the Galaxies Opera House. A richly dressed Sullustan helped Anor's elegantly coiffed kriff-toy out of an airspeeder. The green gown she wore was comprised of shimmersilk panels and strategically place slits. Nearly all of her arms were bare from the shoulder to the cuff of the gown that closed in tight on her forearm to her wrist. Manacles should be worn with that dress; those who didn't understand would think they were snug but beautiful bracelets. The panels descended to her feet, but her long legs kicked out of the slits as she moved. And the slit from the collar to the embellished waist revealed the lack of foundation garments on her breasts. Loose tendrils of red hair escaped the up-do and framed her face and neck. That hairstyle was wrong. It should be pulled back into a tight braid, making a natural leash to correct her misbehavior better with.

The spy droid followed the pair into the Galaxies Opera House lobby, but not into the auditorium's seating area. Then there was a time lapse and people and aliens congregated the lobby again, taking refreshments from the unobtrusive serving droids. His kriff-toy was conversing with her Sullustan escort and her back was to the nearest entrance to the auditorium. The fly eye's holographic lens caught Skywalker as he entered the lobby wearing an impeccably cut black suit under a black jacket cut like a short robe. His expression when he spotted the kriff-toy went familiarly incandescent before he schooled his features and approached her.

Anor recognized that look from her training. It often crossed the faces of slaves he had allowed his kriff-toy to dominate for his viewing pleasure. It had crossed many faces of military men and moffs in the court when she focused attention on them. How many of those poor bastards realized Palpatine's execution order came in such a gorgeous package or had they died in the throes of oblivious ecstasy from her attention?

But her demeanor right then in the lobby when Skywalker reached them; Anor leaned closer to the holoprojector. Her smile was warm and soft in a way he had never seen her use in court. She tilted closer to him as if Skywalker had gravitational pull and he nearly matched the pitch. Skywalker's answering smile showed how much he appreciated how she had graced him with her acknowledgment. The Sullustan said something that reddened both their cheeks.

Shavit! They were lovers. That explained the increased contact, the various meal dates, and happening to bump into each other at events where for some crazy political reason they had to attend with different people. Which the Sullustan was amused enough to point out to the pair of them how transparent it all was. He seethed. How dare she give herself to anyone else without his permission! His kriff-toy would spend weeks in a bacta tank once he was finished discipling her. Maybe even skip the bacta so her scars would remind her of her transgression.

He drew his anger back under control. There was her beauty to consider and he had missed breaking her stoic expression with pain and pleasure. But punishment had to wait until she was in his ownership again. He had to draw her away from Coruscant and Karrde's organization. He had to remind her of what she was and that her only safety in the galaxy was with him. He turned off the holovid to compose his message to Jus. He had no desire to watch Skywalker fawn over his kriff-toy.

"Jus, I'm changing the parameters of this job. Continue the surveillance, but I want you to break into her quarters and destroy everything she owns. Make it clear that the New Republic cannot keep her safe. Actually, leave a dancing girl's outfit so it's the only clothes she has to wear. Leave a message for her to return to Columex. Add whatever theatrical touches you think necessary. Don't get caught because if she rents a hotel room or uses something Karrde owns, you'll have to repeat the attack in the same way until she leaves planet."

Satisfied with his message, he sent it to Coruscant. It was time to focus on the procurement mission. He combed his fingers through his curly iron-gray hair, giving it the appropriate level of dishevelment. He pulled a greel wood box out of the desk's bottom drawer. The box's darker red hue contrasted with the scarlet of the desktop and the black velvet interior lining. The blood scanning device nestled inside on the black cushion didn't suggest such careful ceremony, but this blood scanner had been gifted to him by the Emperor. Anor had no idea what it tested but the Emperor had wanted the humans that registered positive with it and had compensated him for the expense of buying them. After the Emperor fell, Executor Sedriss had approached Anor to continue the buying. Unfortunately, the slave markets were not what they used to be, even ones run by the Karazak Slavers Cooperative.

He slipped the blood scanner into his jacket pocket and the catalog went into the other. The sleeve covered the holdout blaster holster on his right forearm. The large, three-story, multiple winged bazaar abutted the spaceport so it was only a short stroll from his yacht into the beige duracrete structure. Kor Jhcor, the human distribution manager who personally handled all of Anor's purchases, waited at the main archway between the spaceport and the bazaar. Jhcor had smooth, dark skin and kept his hair in many tight braids that reached his shoulders. Jhcor's age was rather hard to determine, though Anor was positive Jhcor was younger than himself. "Master Anor, I trust you have received the current catalog. Shall I bring a product out for your personal inspection?"

Anor smiled deprecatory. "Unfortunately, I am only buying on behalf of my client and not for my personal collection, Master Jhcor."

"I set aside the human blood samples for you in anticipation of that." Jhcor walked beside him through center of the large hall. The upper story had an alien script that Anor couldn't read made of red volcanic glass and set into the duracrete. The design was copied on the ceiling high above their heads and on the floor, though the floor version was smaller and ran in parallel lines denoting the walkway space from the booth space. The booths occupied square alcoves regularly spaced on both sides of the hall. Krill Senth Cresh's products were interspersed with sellers of artisan crafts and mass-produced kitsch. "Are you sure I can't tempt you with our selection in Twi'leks? We liberated them from a Hutt shipment, so you can be assured of the highest quality." Jhcor waved a hand at the booth they passed. A chalk-white female Twi'lek knelt on the counter-top with her knees splayed wide for inspection from the potential buyers.

"Alas, I'm afraid a Twi'lek would draw too much attention on the planet I've had to relocate to." Columex didn't allow non-humans to immigrate. They were welcome to stop and trade, but moving one in would draw the attention of Columex's anti-slavery fanatics.

"The New Republic continues spreading their equality propaganda." Jhcor sniffed disdainfully as he ushered Anor through the door of an enclosed alcove furnished with a table and chairs.

"In this case, I believe it is a streak of Old Republic idealism that refuses to die out, despite how the planetary interests align with the Empire." Anor sat at the table and set the blood scanner in front of him while Jhcor opened the box of tiny vials.

"We only have twenty humans available at this sale." He pushed the box across the table and the vials did not fill the top row of slots to hold them. "If your client is willing to acquire non-human, it will be only a moment to get those samples."

Anor shook his head. "My client only wants humans." He opened the first vial, ignored the identifying markings on the outside of the container, and inserted the probe into the red fluid. The scanner read negative. He moved to the next. "Is Krill Senth Cresh still taking jobs targeting specific targets?"

"Personal interest or for your client?"

"Personal for now, but I never know what my client may want next." The second and third vials were also negative. He re-closed them and put them back in the box. "I'm only exploring the option at this point."

"I understand. We require a fee to send in an acquisition specialist, refundable if we decide the venture is too risky or if you decide the price to accomplish the venture is too steep. The size of the fee depends on the planet. If you will excuse me, I'll get you a list of the current prices."

"Of course." Anor continued checking the vials as the dark-skinned man left the waiting room. The seventh spiked on the positive side. He carefully stoppered the vial again and set it on the table. He plowed through the rest of the negative samples and was on the last five by the time Jhcor returned with a datapad. He waited patiently as Anor finished. The remaining five vials were all negative. "One out of twenty."

"Has your client ever told you what he is testing for?" Jhcor slid the datapad across the table to Anor before picking up the vial left out of the box. "I ask only because we could plan a raid to target exactly what they want. One out of twenty, we can improve those odds."

Anor sighed. "If I was supposed to know what the test is for, I would have been told. I'll pass on your offer to target the raid specifically for their needs. Meanwhile, let's have a look at that one." Jhcor bowed his head and left with the vial. Anor picked up the datapad. He would make stops at the Zygerrian Slavers Guild on Zygerria and wherever the Thalassian Slavers set up shop to sell, but he didn't expect to find more products to offer Executor Sedriss. He glanced over the list of prices. Jus was no kidnapper, and the Krill Senth Cresh were so very good at snatching sentients. His kriff-toy's resistance would not matter.

The price for an acquisition specialist to survey a target on Coruscant did matter, as it far exceeded all credits he could reasonably accrue. Even if he sold his specialized collectible droids, and he had worked so hard to collect the set of five, there wouldn't be enough credits. But if Jus could harass her off planet—Daan's rate was a bargain in comparison—hiring the Krill Senth Cresh might be feasible. And their results would be worth nearly all the credits he had.

Jhcor returned pulling a small child along by the chain between her wrist manacles. Her dark skin was a shade lighter than Jhcor's, her brown eyes huge as they stared out from the rounded face, and her curly black hair sprang from her head like a matted and tangled mane. Anor frowned with a sigh. "An infant."

"Not an infant, she's a four-years-old by our medical scans," Jhcor grinned at him. "A very healthy female and one-hundred percent human. By our standards, she is classified as a child."

"She's an infant as far as my desires are concerned." Anor continued frowning at the child whose future beauty was too far away to determine. Right now she resembled a vibro-mop dressed in a torn and dirty tunic and trousers. "My client doesn't care what age the product is. Can she be transported in a sed-box? I'd prefer not to have to deal with her before delivery."

"Of course we can tailor a sed-box for her size and weight for an additional fee." Jhcor dropped the child's chain and she stood obediently at his side. A facade beat into her by the Krill Senth Cresh, Anor was under no illusions that she'd maintain that level of quiet and stillness once aboard his yacht. Jhcor pulled a datapad out of his jacket pocket and recalculated the figures. "And do you wish to hire an acquisition specialist at this time?"

"Not at this time, but it's subject to change." Anor took the datapad and analyzed the bill of sale. He authorized with his thumb print and handed it back with his credit chip.

Jhcor took the payment from it and handed it back with a datacard containing the child's information, bill of sale, and ownership details. "All finalized, Master Anor, if you'll come this way, we can ready the product for transport to your vessel."

"Of course." Anor pocketed his blood scanner in his jacket and followed Jhcor and the girl back out into the bazaar.

* * *

Luke leaned back from the console and rubbed his eyes. Today had seemed like a good day to review information from the archive search, but he had overdone it. The letters were all blending together, not to mention everything he had read. Time to stop. Twilight was descending over the Imperial Palace he noticed as he focused his eyes outside the wall of transparisteel that separated the parlor dining room from the balcony. He should see about supper now.

His comlink signaled. Mara's voice bubbled on the other end. "This is not an official announcement. We put Tevv in charge of that and the official we have come to an agreement party. So keep it in the airlock, but the contract is signed!"

He stretched out to feel her euphoria. She was in the Palace, in her residential section a few levels away. It was getting easier to feel her emotions the more they trained together. And she wasn't trying to shield from him. "That's great. Now what happens? Besides the party to officially announce it."

"Tomorrow, I plan to sleep in. I've earned it. The day after that I'll get the shipping schedules up and running. Right now, do you want to get food? I know it's short notice, but I want to celebrate."

"I don't have any supper plans."

"Great, give me a chance to put on something a little nicer—" Her voice broke off and he felt her satisfied excitement vanish in a flash of rage.

"Mara?"

"I'll comm you back, Skywalker. I have to contact security." She closed the connection.

He checked his comlink for frost before standing up. Artoo whistled at him from the charging station. "I'll be back in a little while, Artoo." He didn't run to Mara's quarters. She wasn't in danger and she was already bringing her rage under control. Disgust was winning out. But something was wrong, confusion and trepidation bubbled under her disgust. And she was alerting security. Mara Jade did not alert security; she handled things herself. So he also didn't waste time heading to the turbolift that reached her level.

Two security officers were already in her quarters by the time he reached them, questioning Mara and recording a holovid of the rooms. Mara's voice had warmed up slightly as she spoke to the officers: Coruscant winter instead of Hoth. "I can't explain that message any more than you can. I have never been to Columex; I can't even tell you what sector it is in. If I have never been to a place, surely you understand why I can't return there." Her distrust was mixed with contempt.

"Trader Jade, any information you can give us will make it easier for us to find out who did this."

Luke heard _you idiots didn't stop this_ as clearly as if she had shouted it. He moved through the foyer before she uttered her doubts about their competency out loud. "Mara? Are you alright?" He stopped short at the mess. The kitchen on his right was separated from the parlor by the counter that held the sink. All the cabinet doors hung open; their contents thrown to the floor, which shattered the dishes. Cloth ribbons festooned the overturned and broken furniture in the parlor. The ribbons had been ripped from larger cloth, and he realized it must have been her wardrobe when he recognized the flight suit sleeve draped over a lamp that was left on the wall next to the viewscreen. "Return to Columex" was graffitied on the fijisi wood paneled wall between the parlor and the bedroom and black ribbons were tacked to the wall underneath the largest phrase. "Leave Coruscant now, schutta. No one wants you here, Imperial whore" were repeated in smaller letters all over the wall.

She sighed as she turned to him, annoyed resignation briefly smothering the trepidation. The second security officer nearly dropped the holorecorder when he turned around in the bedroom door. "I'm fine. My wardrobe is non-existent now. Luckily, all work got left in my office and I didn't bring any keepsakes here." Her lightsaber hung from her waist. "I will have to renegotiate our plans. I have to go buy clothes—"

"And toiletries," the security officer with the holorecorder added helpfully. "There's nothing salvageable out of the mess in the 'fresher."

"And toiletries," Mara repeated. "And find a new place to stay." Exhaustion colored her voice as her apprehension grew stronger.

The security officer standing with Mara in the parlor looked up from his datapad. "We can assign you new quarters."

"Thank you, but you couldn't even stop this vandalism from happening. The only things I have left to wear are the clothes I'm currently standing in and a dance outfit from who knows which lower level that the perpetrator so thoughtfully left behind." She waved her hand at the message, a nonchalant gesture hiding her disdain over the coward who wouldn't fight her directly.

Luke looked at the ribbons again. Now he realized they weren't torn but sewn in loops to wrap around a female's breasts with a band and U-shaped ring to fit over the nipple like a target lock. The bottom half ribbons could be stepped into like basics but the ribbon wasn't wide enough to cover a female's genitalia. "That's a dancer's outfit?" he demanded. The outfit Jabba had forced Leia to wear had covered more skin.

"It is," the security officer answered as his olive skin reddened. "In certain venues… in the lower levels… for particular clientele, Jedi Skywalker."

Mara shook her head. "Sheltered upbringing on Tatooine I can understand. But how did you make it out of the military without anyone dragging you to a skin club?"

"All our bases were on unoccupied planets after I enlisted." Her mood improved for the better with the chance to tease him, so he let her have the chance. It wasn't fair that this happened just when she finished with the committee aggravation. Who would subject her to this violation?

The security officer looked back down at his datapad. "Have you given your key code to anyone?"

She gave the officer a withering glare. "No one has my key code, except me and you people who assigned it. I do not give my key codes out to anyone." Her mind churned on did security give it away? Who in the New Republic hated her enough to do this?

"Of course, Trader Jade." He made note of her answer on his datapad.

Her green eyes rolled before she looked at Luke again. "It doesn't look like I'll have time for supper tonight."

"You still need to eat. I know you don't want to go out after this."

"The vandal emptied my conservator too, right on the kitchen floor. Not that I had much in it." She shook her head. "But right now I'm more worried about where to go to sleep and what alarms should it have."

"We can provide you with a guard on your new quarters," the security officer offered.

She wasn't hiding her doubt in their capabilities, but the officer wasn't picking up on it. "Stay with me," Luke offered before she gave the officer one of her scathing retorts that would enlighten him. Her eyes narrowed with distrust and now he rolled his eyes. "I have a guest room, and no one's going to come after both of us." He felt her brush against his emotions. But her suspicion found nothing to latch onto with his concerned sympathy, and her stare softened a bit. "It'll save you a hotel fee until you find a new place."

She huffed. "Fine, I'll borrow your guest room until I see what the state of Coruscant's real estate market is." Exhaustion welled up inside her again, creating an inner sandstorm with anger and confusion.

"Thank you."

"It keeps you from forcing me to accept a Noghri bodyguard."

The security officer frowned at the mention of the species who still provided an honor guard over Leia and her twins. Luke didn't care if it made the Imperial Palace security look bad; Thrawn had come too close to successfully kidnapping his sister, niece, and nephew multiple times. He would tell the Noghri about this breach. But to placate the security officers, he would offer his services. "I can attempt to sense anything about the perpetrator with psychometry."

Mara's attention focused on him, curiosity becoming a welcome distraction. "I don't know that one."

"It allows a Jedi to investigate the tenuous imprints of the Force left on objects when they are handled by living beings. I can try to sense something from whom did this if I can," he glanced around the parlor and attached kitchen before grimacing at the dancing outfit, "touch that. It has to be something that only the perpetrator touched."

"Sithspit, I hope he didn't bring me a used dancing outfit." Mara crossed her arms over her chest.

"We took scans of it already," the security officer said. "No trace evidence on it. Feel free to touch it."

Luke moved around the tipped over armchair and wrapped his hand around the black ribbon that would circle the wearer's hips. He closed his eyes and focused. "Not human, I can't identify the species and I'm not getting a visual of him. He's nervous about doing this but greedy. There's no malice in the act, he's being paid to do it." He blinked and let go. "I don't know how helpful that is, sorry."

"We'll add it to the report," the security officer tapped on his datapad. "Thank you, Jedi Skywalker."

"You don't need to stay around for this," Mara said. Then she strengthened her shields but her mental voice added straight to his mind, _I won't hurt them over this fiasco, I promise._

"Okay. Meet at my quarters once you're done shopping." She nodded and Luke left. He waited until he was inside the turbolift before comming Khabarakh. He took the news gravely, accepted that the Son of Vader could handle his and Mara's protection, and agreed to keep a closer watch on the twins. That conversation got him to Luke's quarters' door.

"Artoo, we're going to have company for a while. Mara needs a place to stay." He headed straight for his conservator. That would work for supper for two, but he didn't have ingredients for a dessert course. He frowned. Mara never did order a dessert when they went out to eat. Maybe she wouldn't mind?

The droid rolled to the kitchen doorway that led to the dining area of the parlor and whistled his question.

"Her quarters were vandalized and it's not safe for her to be alone. So be nice." The warble that followed was sarcastic enough to bring Luke's head out of the conservator. "I mean it, Artoo. She hasn't said anything about dismantling you since Myrkr, so you should let that go."

The beep as Artoo rolled away was non-committal at best. Luke shook his head and pulled the ingredients from the shelves.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Mara Jade's name: I believe Mara Jade is the oldest alias she has, but it's not the name her birth parents gave her. Either Palpatine renamed her or more likely a nanny/governess/tutor renamed her for records' purposes and he approved of it. As far as Mara can remember, it is her name. Other members of the court were aware of the renaming.

If you want to see the dress that Mara wore to the Galaxies Opera House, it is at this URL: http colon slash slash www period bookwormlibrary period us slash graphics slash illustrations_story slash star_wars_home slash mara_dress_for_Galaxies_opera_house_Home period jpg And if FanFiction Net decides to strip all that out, just switch over to reading at AO3 where you can actually SEE images.

The child Bendak Anor bought is portrayed by Skai Jackson when she was at that age: http colon slash slash www period bookwormlibrary period us slash graphics slash illustrations_story slash star_wars_home slash Korora_played_by_skai_jackson period jpg


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

It didn't take long for Mara to pick out a couple of jumpsuits, a pair of trousers, a couple of tunics, modest pajamas that would avoid anyone thinking of anything inappropriate, and serviceable basics. The shop inside the Imperial Palace also had travel toiletry kits, so that took care of her most basic needs without denting her credit balance too badly. She had her eye on a stunning sheer green dress that had a plunging neckline both front and back and careful application of shimmering lines of green sequins down the torso to keep it suitable for public. She had wanted to turn all the heads at the contract signing ball or whatever the New Republic would host. Now she had to buy it, she no longer had a back-up dress to wear. Now turning heads was a kriff you to whoever thought Mara Jade could be frightened off by vandalism. Kriff that funtihruo, she was not prey. Everyone who thought she was prey learned how foolish thinking that was. The last thing she picked up in this store was a cheap duffel bag that she packed her purchases into before returning to the residential levels.

Of course the satisfaction of that education was thwarted by not knowing who to focus on. Mara slumped in the otherwise empty turbolift. She was so tired and she wanted to lash back, but she had no clues on who deserved that lashing and no faith that the New Republic security officers she just met would find any clues. She looked down at her wrist comlink to confirm that Karrde hadn't returned her comm yet. And was Skywalker going to help or hinder? He was indignant on her behalf earlier. But what was she going to owe him for this favor? He didn't track favors owed, she reminded herself repeating what he had said often enough.

The turbolift doors opened and she disembarked with her cool detached appearance in place. She felt Luke's presence in this floor's turbolift lobby and it only grew stronger as she headed down the hall to his quarters. She made sure her mental shields were prepared and strong. No sense disturbing him with more of her chaotic thoughts. The door slid open before she could even press the door annunciator. "You should be more careful. What if I wasn't alone?" She stepped into the foyer so the door slid shut behind her.

"If you were being used to get to me, you'd be yelling about it with your mind. Every Force Sensitive in the sector would hear you." Luke's voice came from the doorway to her left. She followed it and the delicious smells making her stomach rumble. The doorway opened into the kitchen. Luke's back was to her as he flipped the portions of meat in a skillet and adjusted how it sat on the nanowave burner. He picked up another pan and tossed the contents into the air. He caught the vegetable pieces back in the pan without using the Force. He had taken off his long-sleeved tunic and the black, sleeveless undertunic revealed his arm muscles as he worked. She had seen his arms before, she reminded herself, while they trained. He glanced over his shoulder at her with a smile. "Do you like nerf steaks seasoned the Corellian way?"

"Yes, I do. But you're cooking?" Of the ways Skywalker could surprise her, cooking never made her list of possibilities.

"Are you saying it like that because no one cooks for you or because it's me who's cooking?"

"Both, if we're excluding people I pay to cook a meal for me."

His attention returned to the stove. "My aunt insisted if I was going to be underfoot in the kitchen I had to help. If I was going to sneak snacks, I had to work for it. We both need to eat and you do deserve a celebration, but I figured you wouldn't want to go out now."

He wasn't wrong. The emotional upheaval of the past hour or so on top of finally getting the contract signed had left her drained. Going out in public no longer had any appeal. "Thanks for thinking of it. I am hungry." She wondered what the etiquette for this situation was. No one had ever cooked for her unless it was a mess meal for everyone or a meal she bought at a restaurant. On top of not knowing the etiquette for this; she had never really shared quarters with anyone before. It didn't feel the same as on base or on a ship, even if he had promised her a room of her own to retreat to.

Luke turned from the sizzling pans to face her. "The guest room is down the hall behind you, second door on the left." Before Mara turned around, the white and blue astromech rolled into the foyer from the parlor beeping. It turned into the hall. Luke shrugged. "Or just follow Artoo."

"Okay." She adjusted the duffel bag strap on her shoulder. The hall was longer than she expected. The first door on the left was a guest 'fresher and the three doors on the right side of the hall looked like closets. The hall ended in an open door right after the second door on the left.

Artoo turned around in the open door and stopped. It swiveled its radar eye and holographic projector at the second door on the left. Its whistles and beeps were insistent.

Mara frowned. "Let me guess, that's your master's room and I'm not to set a foot inside."

She really had no idea that the droid could make an affirmative beep sound so sarcastic as he rocked on two of his three legs.

"My being here was his bright idea." She entered the guest bedroom before she said something that would make her sound ungrateful. It had a short hallway which held the door to an attached 'fresher on the right and a small closet on the left. The bedroom was decorated with beige walls, a darker beige carpet, a gray armchair that matched the gray of the bed's platform and headboard, a pair of gray bedside tables, white linens covering the bed along with a dark gray extra blanket folded across the foot of the two-sleeper bed, and a color holoimage of the Manarai Mountains hung above the headboard. She recognized the standard decorating style that was meant as a placeholder for the inhabitant's style. Skywalker hadn't bothered changing anything in this room. Had he bothered changing anything in his bedroom or the parlor? Or was it nicer than anything he had grown up with or lived with in Rebel bases?

That was uncharitable. No one had encouraged her to redecorate her quarters when she lived in the Palace. She didn't even realize it was a possibility until her training took her into other people's private quarters and she saw how they changed things. But she was lucky the habit of not decorating stuck with her. The furniture and decor the vandal just destroyed belonged to the Imperial Palace. Her clothes, that did give her a pang. She had started taking being able to afford nice outfits again, having safe storage for what was hers again for granted. Once she knew who was responsible they were paying for all her dresses. She set her duffel on the bed and transferred the clothes to the closet before they wrinkled more. Starting over again was becoming a habit. She caught herself staring out the transparisteel wall at the view from this side of the Imperial Palace. She stuffed the duffel into the closet and left the room.

Artoo was still guarding Luke's bedroom. She rolled her eyes and headed back to the kitchen, determined to be polite for this favor and looking for anything else to think about. "So why'd you take a two bedroom quarters?"

"It was a compromise." Luke bent over and pulled a pan from the oven, completely unconcerned with the view he presented. It complimented his arms, she thought safely behind her shields. "They wanted to give me as many rooms as Leia and Han share but all I needed was one and they wanted to keep people together on certain levels for security reasons, so when we finally got to the level they wanted me on and this was the smallest unit, I took it." The warm, yeasty smell hit her nostrils as he dumped the fresh baked bread onto a serving platter. "I had planned on turning the second bedroom into a meditation room or an office, but gave that up after the third time I had a drunk Rogue on my hands. I like being able to watch the HoloNet in peace while they're sleeping off a bender."

She leaned against the counter next to the doorway not wanting to get in his way. "Didn't your responsibility for them end when you resigned your commission?" Not that it would really make a difference to him, she knew that. Even she fell under his benevolence, completely unearned as it was.

"I've transitioned from their CO to the fun uncle who won't tattle on them." He sliced the bread. "Don't explain it to Janson, though. Wedge and I are trying to see just how long he'll take KP assignments from me."

"He actually follows through?"

"I only assign them when he's earned them." He carried the serving platter through the opening in the counter that led into the parlor. She saw that section of the larger room had a four-seat table. "And yes, he does." He chuckled.

She looked over the pans on the stove. "Is there something you want me to do?"

"Pick out a wine to go with the meal. I'm rubbish at that."

"According to who?" Organa Solo wouldn't offer a criticism that harshly, Mara thought. Not to her own brother.

"Lando," he answered. "What I have is in the wine conservator next to the regular—"

"I see it." The wine conservator was built under the counter between the conservator and a tall cabinet. She bent over to study the contents. "But you don't drink; we don't have to have wine."

"Celebrations call for wine," he recited. That sounded like his sister. "And I do drink."

She found a Glova red wine she recognized as strongly tannic, but looked back at him. Then she realized how she was standing and squatted in front of the wine conservator. "I was at the party you sent the bartender into a fit trying to find you hot chocolate."

He reached into an upper cabinet to the right of the sink opposite the stove for a pair of plates. His embarrassment rose with the memory. "I kept telling him not to bother once I knew he didn't have any. So all the parties we've been to have had the Rogues on the guest list too?"

"Yes, they have been." A hexagonal-shaped bottle etched with designs she didn't recognize caught her eye. It was filled with clear liquid. "What is this?" She pulled it out so he could see it and saw the multiples of the same bottle. "And you have a case of it?"

"Starshine, but you don't drink that with food. We can have it after if you want."

"I've never tried it. But why do you have a case of it?"

"That's the Rogues' fault."

She pulled out the Glova red too and straightened her legs. "I'm sensing a pattern with your stories, Farmboy." The wine goblets were in the upper cabinet above the counter, so she reached for a pair of them. She didn't mind talking about that squad of flyboys. Skywalker still had ties with them and they didn't consider her an Imperial whore.

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable with Rebellion stories." Luke set a steak on the top plate.

Because I'm still an Imperial in someone's eyes, she thought bitterly. She left the starshine on the counter. "That's something we will have to accept, our pasts make each other uncomfortable. But I think it's better to spit it out." Instead of letting it fester until you do malicious vandalism.

"And move on." He added a serving spoonful of the vegetable pieces to the plate as she moved behind him. She felt his mental brush assessing how comfortable she was with that in practice.

"Right." You had to keep moving to stay alive. That was probably the last thing Palpatine taught her and Isard reinforced it. She set the goblets down in the two place settings already arranged and opened the wine bottle. "So why did the Rogues get their designated sober flyboy so much liquor?"

Pride tinged with an old sorrow flared through the Force before he strengthened his shields. "I flew exactly one mission as a grunt pilot before I got shoved into the command track."

"The Death Star, stupidest battle station design ever."

His eyebrows rose at that as he brought the readied plates to the table. "One piece of advice I was given was limit the fraternization with the pilots under your command. Han was the one who explained that meant no getting drunk with them." Resignation over what he missed cracked through his shields.

"So you don't drink around the Rogues." She poured the red wine into the goblets and sat down where she could see the entryways through the foyer and the kitchen.

"I still don't drink around the Rogues. So when Gavin Darklighter said he was going back to Tatooine to visit his parents and I gave him credits to pick up a bottle of good starshine and Gavin told the rest of the Rogues 'wow there is something Skywalker will drink,' they all pooled their credits and bought me a case."

Mara's chuckle surprised her. "That's a pretty tame prank compared to other stories I've heard about them. Or heard from them."

His grin faded slightly as she felt isolation get thrust aside. "They generally don't share the ones when the punishment fits. I made them share the first bottle with me. They only made it halfway through it." He picked up a slice of bread from the serving plate between them. "They know not to order Starshine Surprise now." Isolation welled up again as he looked down at his plate.

There were more personal touches in his parlor she cataloged as she cut into her steak: a yellow glass sculpture of a rough hewn needle's eye on a pedestal next to the console, a primitive wooden club decorated with feathers lay on the fireplace mantle, and holoimages of various people she was too far away to identify hung on the walls. So his decorating didn't extend into the guest bedroom or to buying personalized furniture. The sofa and armchair facing the viewscreen on the wall and functioning as a divider for the room were the same gray as the one in her bedroom. It was more personal touches than she had ever indulged in. She didn't want to think about how she had decided not to buy the fijisi sculpture since there was so much already in the quarters she had, so she put the bite of steak into her mouth. The tangy sweet spice on the tender meat shocked her taste buds. "This is delicious."

Her compliment pleased him out of withdrawal, and his smile was soft and warm. "I'm glad you like it." He focused on his own plate, and so did Mara. The vegetables were a perfect blend of succulence to the crisp cooking had given them. The blue butter melted against the still warm bread, giving it a richness that insta-bread in ration kits just didn't have.

Perhaps she didn't need to worry about repaying this favor. He needed company as badly as she needed a place to stay. "What you had with the Rogues, I've got now with Karrde's organization. Barely there six months, and he practically created the liaison position for me and has me over people who have been with him for years."

He grimaced in sympathy. "Have you gotten a lot of grief about it?"

"Not as much as you'd think." The wine was easing the tension in her shoulders that she hadn't realized was that bad. "Once word spread about saving the boss from Imperial interrogation nearly single handedly." Referring to Karrde made her shoulders tense again. She twisted her arm to look at her comlink. He must be in hyperspace to have not answered her message by now. The next swallow of wine didn't relax her shoulders.

"You can talk to me," Luke said quietly. "And you don't even need a comlink."

She sighed. "You went to a lot of trouble and I can't manage to be a decent guest and put this mess aside."

"Is that what you want to do? I can put on the HoloNet or drag out more embarrassing Rogue Squadron stories. Or I can help." He speared a green vegetable pod with his fork. "You need to spit it out before you can move on."

He was right, but she felt relieved at the thought of doing something towards solving it than horrified. Skywalker had proved he had a sound tactical mind with their assault on the _Chimera_ and he knew the personalities involved better than she did. "Of the people who know I was an Imperial, this attack would be easiest accomplished by the ones in the New Republic. Do you think Karrde pissed off Fey'lya enough that he'd hire someone to trash my stuff now that the deal has gone through?"

"It's not really his style. One of his clan members suddenly becoming a trader and undercutting the Smuggler's Alliance rates seems more likely."

"That matches what I know about Fey'lya and Bothans in general. But he could access enough of my sealed records to allude to my dancing background, which is what I'm assuming leaving that outfit behind was for."

His face reddened and he couldn't look her in the eye. "Did Palpatine," he paused, "make you wear dance clothes like that?"

Our pasts make each other uncomfortable indeed. She drained her wine glass. Why did he think that was relevant? She caught a flash of Jabba's throne room, projected from his memories. Oh, that was the court he grew up with. And she had described her cover in the Imperial Court as decorative froth before. "Palpatine never did, so no my public performance outfits had more fabric in them. Suggested rather than exposed."

The nightmare version of Anor's parties rose in her memories behind her shields. She poured herself another glass of wine. Those training performances didn't count and the dreams ignored how her identity was hidden from the guests thanks to objectifying hoods. She never saw the guests; they only saw a living kriff-toy. It had nothing to do with the pool of suspects and she was not about to upset Skywalker who was all too ready to compare that training to a Hutt's den of filthy iniquity.

She put the wine bottle down with a thunk. "The Imperial Court knew me as a dancer and possible concubine, but Isard killed most of them in her bid for control and the members who fled haven't returned."

He swallowed his bite before speaking. "Did you have private performances? The way you said it sounded like a difference between them."

"There was, but who I gave private performances to we don't have to worry about as suspects." He frowned, but she continued before he objected. "They were targets now neutralized." She picked up her wine glass again.

He winced. "You don't have to pretend that you're okay about this."

"I'm fine. The funtihruo was too much of a coward to face me. So a smart coward who didn't want his teeth punched in." She cut into the steak with a little more force than the tender meat required.

"So someone in the New Republic has decided to harass you off Coruscant, found out about the dancing part of your past, and hired a vandal to wreck your quarters and throw insults and references to your past at you. The vandal left behind the only dancing outfit he has knowledge about." Luke swallowed his wine and surprise crossed his features. He picked up the wine bottle to check the label. "This tasted awful the last time I tried it."

"Always pair it with nerf steaks. The dancing outfit is an attempt to make it personal. They should have stuck with my clothes." She took another slice of bread and ignored her pulse of anger over her destroyed wardrobe.

He sent her a wave of sympathetic energy. "Nothing could be salvaged?" He winced as she shook her head. "I should apologize for my side."

"Don't. The only one who owes me anything is the one who orchestrated this mess. And it's my side too now. In an unofficial liaison capacity only." She paused before lifting the bread to her mouth. "You are going to let me punish him? Or did I waive all rights to that when I accepted your hospitality?"

"Are you planning to stop short of grievous bodily harm?" He looked serious at her half-shoulder shrug but his blue eyes sparked with anticipation. "We need to know who it is so we can stop them from targeting other former Imperials. Those lessons are better stacked together while the perpetrator is still conscious."

"The guilty party will not end up in the medcenter on my account." Sometimes it was just as effective for the target to know that it was a possibility depending entirely on her mercy. "What doesn't make any sense is telling me to go back to somewhere I've never been. Where is Columex even located?"

"Artoo can do a search." He looked for his droid that still hadn't returned. "Where?"

"Still protecting your virtue is my guess."

"What?" He turned back to her.

"He took up a guard position in your bedroom door."

"Artoo, come do not need to guard my room." The astromech rolled out of the hall with a series of beeps. "I mean it. You don't do that when anybody else stays over, and neither of us needs to trip over you if we want to get some water in the middle of the night." The droid's warble was reluctant. "Do a search for Columex, please." Artoo rolled to the console set up in the parlor corner diagonal from the kitchen and plugged into the dataport. Luke turned back to her. "He didn't try to lock you in, did he?"

She smirked. "That I'd like to see him try." If the droid was actually better than her skills, there was always her lightsaber. Focusing on the astrogation and the droid's antics alleviated some of the powerlessness she had felt about today.

Artoo beeped happily and pulled the information up on the viewscreen mounted on the wall between the console and the fireplace. Columex was in the Vorzyd sector in the Outer Rim Territories on the Perlemian Trade Route and Salin Corridor. Mara shook her head. "I have never been there."

"Has Karrde?"

"Not since I started working for him. I'll ask him if it means something to him when he comms me."

Artoo whistled and called up another sector map. With Columex clearly marked, it expanded to show the planet was in an area of space labeled the Borderlands. "The Empire and the New Republic are both trying to gain systems in that area. No battles, but they're stuck in the middle between us and the Pentastar Alignment." Luke shook his head. "If it's supposed to be a message for you to go back to the Empire, why not name a planet in the middle of the Alignment?"

"Maybe they didn't have a map of all the current boundaries." She drained her goblet again.

"There's not enough evidence to guess. But we don't all feel that way. You have friends in the New Republic." His blue eyes bored into her before he turned back to Artoo. "Thanks, Artoo."

"You should ask him to look up the real estate listings. I have no idea what the price range is on this planet. I never had to learn that information."

Luke steeled himself for a revelation. The Force confirmed what his stiff shoulders told her. She felt her own spine stiffen. "I have an apartment."

"Look, I'm not sharing a room with a drunk Rogue so this arrangement is temporary at best." Her spine relaxed and she finished her last bite of vegetables.

"No, I own an apartment building on Coruscant. The penthouse unit in it is empty." He reached over for her empty plate. "Do you want to look at it first?"

A cold thought settled in her stomach. "I thought the New Republic didn't appropriate private property when you took over." The Old Republic was corrupt, the Empire took whatever it wanted but the New Republic had claimed to be so much better than previous governments.

He nearly dropped the dirty dishes as he stood. "They didn't," he said quickly. "Let me get the starshine." He carried the dishes into the kitchen and came back with the hexagonal-shaped bottle in one hand and a pair of short glasses in the other. He poured each about half full, and handed her one glass. "It's recommended new drinkers sip starshine. I did not give the Rogues that warning." He sat and focused on his glass. "I inherited the building from my father."

"Vader owned an apartment building on Coruscant? That doesn't make any sense. When he was on planet, he lived in the Imperial Palace."

"Nearly all the property in the estate are fortresses on different planets, most still under Imperial control. The only non-military buildings are the apartment building in the Senate District and an island mansion on Naboo." He stared at the clear liquid in his glass and took a swallow. "I tried to sell the building back to the former owner—she had stayed on as building manager—but she refused. She liked someone else dealing with the finances so she could concentrate on personalities. But per my father's orders, the penthouse was locked up and not rented out since the Emperor took control."

She felt his qualms, but couldn't pinpoint what the unease was caused by: Vader's secrets, her reaction, or something internal to him? She lifted the short glass to her nose first. She caught a vegetable odor, not bad just unidentifiable. Her sip burned, stronger than whiskey. The aftertaste was sweeter than she had anticipated. "So why aren't you living there? Or your sister?"

"Leia has never wanted anything to do with the inheritance. I tried to share it with her. She finally agreed to let me donate to the New Alderaan project for reparations. It took a while to establish me as the legal heir of his will." Artoo beeped softly in the background. Luke swallowed again and she was amazed that he could handle that much starshine in one swallow. "And I let myself be too busy to go exploring the real estate I can access alone."

She could understand that. It matched how she had felt about going back to Mount Tantiss. She supposed if the fate of the galaxy depended on getting into that apartment, he would go but why deal with secrets the monster father who alienated your sister was hiding if you didn't have to? She sipped again and this swallow didn't burn as hard. She tasted the vegetable in this sip, but it wasn't bad. "Okay, I'm game to check it out and be ready to comm someone to deal with all of Vader's war trophies."

"War trophies?"

"He never brought anything like that back to the Palace. He must have stashed them somewhere else."

"Or maybe he didn't keep any."

She tentatively took a larger swallow and it went down smooth. "Or he had to give them all to Palpatine. But there's something he's hiding there. Rather was hiding there. I didn't know anything about it and I had to find out about everyone."

"Palpatine didn't trust anyone he surrounded himself with." He tilted his head slightly as he drank and she had to tear her eyes away from following the swallow down his throat.

"It was less orders and more survival strategy. I don't want anyone thinking I'm weak and wrecking my clothes, but that's child's play compared to the Imperial Court intrigues."

"Just because you're used to worse doesn't make it right."

She ran her finger along the rim of the glass. He cared so hard about how she had been treated, how she was treated now. That's why he came running to her quarters. "It's not so bad this time. I still have my job and no killing commands have been crammed into my head. So I start over in a new apartment with more alarms."

"That's one way to look at it." He grimaced with his next swallow. "They made you feel unsafe." He set down his glass.

"Don't let them know that, Luke." She chided as she picked up her glass again. "Then they'll think they've won and there's no strategic advantage to that right now. Look for the funtihruo gnashing his teeth that his plan failed to send me fleeing to the Empire. Stupid funtihruo deserves the stupid remnants. How can they still call themselves an Empire when nobody is the Emperor?" She blinked at the glass in her hand. "What the hells? This is actually getting me drunk."

Luke tried to swallow his chuckle and it looked like that hurt him. He couldn't asphyxiate until she knew what was going on.

"I am not tipsy after that much Corellian whiskey. Even with the wine. And you actually finished yours!" She pointed to his empty short glass. "Are you using the Force to not be drunk?" She carefully set her glass on the table and pushed the remains away from her. In case she didn't remember and decided to finish it off. Luke grinned and tried to hide it behind his hand. "Stop laughing at me. I need to know that one. Do you know how many smugglers think it's a good idea to drink me under the table? Karrde says I'm not friendly when I turn down drinks."

"I'm not using the Force. I grew up drinking starshine. Only Biggs could afford anything imported and buying speeder and skyhopper parts was more important. Let me get you some water."

She seized another slice of bread and munched on it until he returned with a large glass of the promised water. "Thank you." She gulped it down. The last thing tomorrow needed was a hangover.

"I wasn't trying to get you drunk."

She blinked at his contrite face. "You're safe to be drunk around and I still know ten ways to stop you, five lethal ways with just my hands. It's higher if we add improvised weapons."

He sat down. "You care what Karrde thinks of you?"

"Yes. He doesn't use me or hate me for being different. He cares about my ideas and what I can do and me. Do you understand?"

He nodded. "He's the first one who has." He looked a little sad. Didn't he understand that Karrde caring about her was a good thing? He leaned forward making sure she focused on his serious face. "I care about you too."

"Because you're nice. You care about everyone, even us that don't deserve it." The conversation was slipping dangerously into something she couldn't identify. Best to stop now before she said something to hurt him, because she didn't want to hurt him not after he had been so nice to her since Myrkr really. Telling him about Isard and Anor would hurt him. Sleep was a better choice. "I'm so tired."

"Can you still walk?"

She stood up slowly, but her legs still functioned. "Yes, I can make it. Good night, Skywalker."

"Sleep well, Mara."

She made it all the way to her room without falling down. She also managed to not start stripping until after the bedroom door was shut. She promised to pick up her trail of clothing in the morning as she slipped between the cool sheets and buried her face into the pillow.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** So I've borrowed a few details from The Old Man's Gift or; How Luke Got Stinking Rich by Aviatorman (mooseman13579), mooseman13579, on AO3 namely the money and the property Vader owned. I love the idea; it is awesome. I love it so much better than the New Republic supporting the Jedi Order. Unfortunately in the background of this story, Luke didn't inherit military forces.

And I don't know if West End Games intended for starshine to be an equivalent to tequila, but that's how I've always seen it.

Alien languages: there should be more in use. I know, writing Basic = English is easier (at least if your first language is English) but I love it as flavor as long as I have translations available close to the narrative. So while writing this story, I was depending on Wookieepedia, and the Complete Wermo's Huttese Dictionary, but kept running into the problem of the languages are only partially built for what they needed in the movies or EU so they are missing the words I needed. I can't really blame them; I've stopped conlags with just the words I needed right then too. But I have the rules for my conlags to make more words; that's the difference.

What I couldn't understand was no one in the fandom finishing them out like Klingon has been. I finally Google searched for making new words in Olys Corellisi and found the Coruscant Translator. Whoever built this let me kiss you, it has been a godsend!

So funtihruo is Olys Corellisi for asshole.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Luke and Mara entered the main floor lobby of the Senate Apartment Complex from the airspeeder parking garage. This lobby was beautifully decorated with objects and columns of graceful elegance but nearly informal compared to the Imperial Palace's architecture. Access to the turbolifts to the higher floor was guarded by a long counter manned by five workers. The doors to a tapcafe were wide open to the lobby and they saw people inside enjoying their meals. The center of the lobby was dominated by a large fountain that had water splashing over the white stone carved into an abstract undulating shape. The seating surrounding the fountain was pushed into smaller clusters for conversational ease.

A beautiful building full of gentlebeings living their lives, no Dark Side taint, and it doesn't match any intel found about those fortress he now owned, Luke thought. Why had his father seized this building? Luke didn't spend much time thinking of the monetary wealth Anakin Skywalker had accumulated while living as Darth Vader. Information to fill in what Luke didn't know would have been so much more valuable than what he bequeathed to Luke.

What really happened between winning the Bootna Eve Classic and returning home to find Grandmother Shmi dead since you weren't learning astrogation off planet? Luke had come to terms with the lie Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru had told him to keep him safe from the Empire. Their last years together may have been less bitter if they had told him something of the truth: Anakin Skywalker was a Jedi and the Empire will probably kill you too. It may have prepared him better for the heroic tales of General Anakin Skywalker he had heard in the Rebellion. He couldn't blame them, but he still resented the lack of answers and the lack of trust he had in the details he had been given as a child.

Aunt Beru said you must have married the beautiful offworlder who came to the homestead with you. She did admit when he got older that Luke was the only proof of a wedding that the Lars hadn't been invited to. That was before he found out Jedi didn't marry, before he found out that the Organas hadn't told Leia any details about her birth family, before he found no traces of any records of a Padmé Skywalker on Coruscant. There was no reason to believe that was his mother's name. Obi-Wan never said her name and it was possible it wasn't the same woman at all. Except what Aunt Beru had said still felt like the truth.

Whoever Mother was, did you love her? He'd be happier with only his military pension to have some answers. Luke gave himself a mental shake to dislodge the melancholy. This wasn't about him. The apartment was empty and Mara needed an apartment, and nothing else mattered. No Dark Side taint present answered the last of his concerns. Mara could have it and be safe.

An older woman broke off from her quiet conversation with the Zeltron behind the desk and briskly headed to them. Her black hair was streaked with gray and pulled back from her smooth face. "Jedi Skywalker? I'm Irella Tarask."

"I'm pleased to meet you at last. This is Trader Mara Jade, my friend who needs a place to stay."

Tarask nodded at them as she ushered them toward the turbolift bank. "I'm glad you're finally taking an interest in the penthouse apartment. It has three bedrooms, three full and one guest refreshers, kitchen, laundry, office space, oh and fully furnished. The furniture and appliances belong to the unit. Of course, any tenant is welcome to replace them with any of their own choosing, but most don't bother." She focused more on Luke. "If you wish for this space to remain an apartment, it's best to offer it furnished. Easier to rent."

The clerk at the front desk pressed a button at Tarask's nod to him and the door in the transparisteel wall in front of the turbolifts slid open. "Residents' bio-metrical markers are on file for the complex. The door would slide open without delay for one. All guests must check in with the front desk, who confirm with the resident that the guests are expected before they are allowed entry. Those three turbolifts," she waved a well-manicured hand at the row on the wall in front of them, "lead up to all other floors. The penthouse is only accessible by this one." She turned to the right and a fourth turbolift opened. It hung on the outside of the building and the view out of the curved transparisteel wall was dizzying. "The only other entrance to the penthouse is a private airspeeder dock and security of that is left up to the tenant. The entire complex is covered by an airspeeder deflector shield, which nothing has hit yet."

"Your security measures are excellent," Mara said as they whisked up the building. Luke glanced at a tall building further away. Anything closer caused his eyes to hurt trying to focus on it at the speed they were going. "There's only been one incident of someone getting past them since the complex opened."

"Bounty hunters," Tarask said in a tone Luke usually heard reserved for mynocks. "The shield also deflects spy droids. If you have a personal droid, we have scanners built into all the turbolifts including this one. Should its internal structure not match what is on record with security the turbolift will be stopped before it reaches any destination."

"Have bounty hunters used droids to get to the occupants?" Luke asked. "Unless that's a measure to stop that droid bounty hunter that's out there?"

"Actually the problem was rather senators spying on other senators. That was bad enough so the scanners were installed. I shudder to think what chaos the Imperial Senate would have had if one of them had decided to blow up a rival."

"I'm glad I don't own a droid," Mara said. "One less thing to worry about."

"Per Lord Vader's instructions, only housekeeping and maintenance droids have been allowed inside the penthouse."

"Mistress Tarask," Luke said, because he had to tell her one time in person. "I don't need to keep ownership of this building."

"Nonsense, you need the income. No Jedi Temple treasury to take care of you now."

He felt a bubbling of mirth from Mara. She bit her lower lip and her green eyes danced. Amused was better than how she felt last night. He looked back at the older woman. "As long as you know you can have the physical property that the Empire took back."

Tarask smiled. "Some conglomerate would get the building after I'm gone. I'd rather you take care of the complex and the residents." The turbolift slowed to a gentle stop. "Here we are, the penthouse," Tarask said as she ushered them into a circular foyer.

"It's blue," Luke blurted out. The walls were a deeper blue than was used in the Imperial Palace. Light strip baseboards separated the walls from an almost purple blue carpet that outlined the room and the interior gray circle. Large vase-like scones hung on the walls flanking the turbolift door and the doorway into the rest of the apartment, but they didn't appear to be hiding lights inside them.

Both women stared at him. Mara turned to Tarask with an apologetic shrug. "He doesn't decorate. I don't either, but I like blue. It's a lovely color; carried throughout the apartment?"

"Yes, the last occupant was very fond of blue. She said it reminded her of the seas on her home world." Tarask led them through the only doorway to another foyer, but this one had deep blue chairs and glass side tables close to the walls and a doorway directly ahead of them and another off to the right. Tarask took the right hand turn. "The light well on the left brings daylight down to the lower floors as well as forms a scenic backdrop for the parlor and dining room."

"She?" Mara matched Tarask's brisk steps. "I'm sorry I thought the last occupant was Darth Vader."

"No, he never leased from me. The last tenant to live here was the senior senator for the Chommell sector during the Clone Wars before the Old Republic fell. Such a pity." Luke frowned. Most of the building's residents were politicians or rich enough to afford Coruscant prices. What was so special about this politician that her home here had to be sealed away? Before he could ask, Tarask continued with the tour. "The first space on the left here is the formal dining room."

They moved past the rounded corner of the light well and the hall became one with the dining room. A gleaming pale wood table with twenty chairs around it was as long as the transparisteel wall of the light well. "How many people lived with the senator?" Luke asked.

"Oh, this would be for formal parties for people you need to impress. There's an informal eating area in the kitchen." Tarask led the way to the reformed hallway on the other side of the dining room. The first door on the left slid open in the promised eating area of the kitchen. A round table with four chairs sat in the center of the space. The spacious counters and appliances of the kitchen stretched beyond it. Tarask strode to the cabinets and waved her hand at the appliances. "Everything has been well maintained, but these appliances are nearly thirty years old. I'd recommend testing everything in case you need to replace anything. The door behind you, Jedi Skywalker, leads back into the dining room for serving the meal, and this door," she opened the one directly across the kitchen from him, "is to the laundry."

"Same thing applies to these appliances?" Mara asked. She looked over Tarask's shoulder and Luke felt her surprise in the Force. "I've only seen machines that big in commercial settings," she added.

"Clothing styles have changed in thirty years. Back to the hallway." Tarask led the way, pointing out the guest 'fresher on the right. The next door on the left turned out to be a guest suite decorated in gray and blue. "This is the first of three bedrooms and it and the master bedroom both have a separate entrance to the veranda."

Luke frowned slightly at the furniture in the room. The last tenant was scratching at his attention. "Everything here belongs to the apartment? Not to the last tenant?"

Tarask nodded as Mara looked into the attached 'fresher. "I packed up all the senator's personal items and returned them to her family on Naboo. Though you should know, if Trader Jade declines, this space doesn't need to remain an apartment."

"What else does the complex need?"

"I've been sitting on an offer to turn this space into a restaurant for about twenty years," Tarask said. "A Naboo thought it was a good way to honor their former queen and senator. I didn't even bother bringing it to Lord Vader's attention, but it is a viable option for the space."

"You don't have to decide right this minute." Mara told him as she moved to the wardrobe door.

"Why did Vader buy this building and seal this apartment off?" Luke grimaced. "I know he didn't bother to explain himself to you, ma'am."

"No, he didn't explain and I doubt anyone on Coruscant would dare ask." Tarask pursed her lips as she thought. "I always thought he bought the building and kept the apartment closed on the Emperor's orders."

That drew Mara out of the wardrobe. "Why would the Emperor want that?"

"They were both Naboo," Tarask explained. "Palpatine was her mentor when she was elected senator and she had something to do with winning the Battle of Naboo which got him the Chancellorship."

That made sense, Luke thought. Either this senator was an ally or deceived by the Sith lord like the rest of the Old Republic and Palpatine had used his father to hide secrets she probably had. And then his father had passed it along with all the fortresses to him; yes, that made sense. He didn't sense anything dark or evil, but he couldn't figure out why his anticipation was so high. Why did he want Mara to have this apartment so badly?

Tarask led them through the fourth door in this bedroom into a short hallway that descended a few steps and opened into the veranda and Luke's breath caught in his throat. The outer walls fell back and white columns and drapes took their place holding up the ceiling. The colors changed to use a dark pink filling broad sections of the stone floor, making circles and curved shapes to match the curves of the veranda. Directly ahead of them was a balcony reached by a few steps. A pair of drapes were tied open creating a doorway to it and the end was defined with white balusters. He looked across the veranda at the matching balcony on the other side.

Mara headed to the center of the veranda, her steps reverent. The center door back into the apartment lined up with a circular sitting area created by two curved sofas built into the steps that gradually led to the landing platform jutting out further than the balconies. A golden-bronzium bowl fountain stood between the sofas and the landing platform bubbling water. Luke shook his head to not get mesmerized by the wealth on display decorating with free-flowing water. The fountain matched the female, winged humanoid statues that watched over the landing platform at the ends of the columns.

"The edge is guarded by a particle and energy shield, which prevents attacks and accidental falls," Tarask explained. "A speeder garage for the penthouse apartment is between this level and the roof."

Mara's focus was on the open doorways that led into the apartment. "Is it coded? It must be if you dock here."

"Oh yes," Tarask said. "That's why we haven't worried about people using it as a free docking space." She led them through the center doorway next and down a long hallway. It split into two but this time Tarask headed left. This branch moved around the other end of the light well and ended in a room of skylights that curved down to the floor. Bronzium etchings covered the ribs holding up the curved roof. The walls and the carpet underfoot were colored in shades of blue. Beyond the sand-colored sofas set facing each other in the center was the doorway into the foyers leading to the turbolift. "This is the main parlor for the apartment. And the transparisteel doors open to access the smaller balconies on this side of the building."

"No place to hang a viewscreen," Mara said.

"Viewscreens and consoles were installed in the office." Tarask led them back to the forked hallway, but continued down the shorter off-shoot that ended at a double door. She strode into the first door on the left. "Oh dear, I suppose this equipment needs replacing too."

The window in the office shrank down from the dome-like ones in the sitting room, and the console desk was near enough for the user to enjoy the view. A large viewscreen hung on the wall between the office and the parlor with a blue sofa set to watch the viewscreen. Luke moved to the large desk for the console and raised his eyebrows. "This was cutting edge computing power thirty years ago."

"You should have Ghent look at it," Mara said. "He can tell if it's still salvageable. Or just give it to him to build something new out of the parts."

"Does he need another project?"

"He always needs another project."

Luke smiled as he followed Tarask to the second door on the left. And the smile strangled on his face as soon as he entered the room. A floor-to-ceiling mural of Tatooine covered the wall shared with the office showing Beggar's Canyon and the Stone Needle with a glimpse of the desert plains and Tatoo I and II shining in the bright blue sky. And underneath the suns positioned in the center of the wall was a baby bed with slatted and high sides to keep the infant safe inside and a mobile of starfighters dangling over it.

The Force sang out the truth and it sounded like a sandstorm howling in his ears. They were all wrong, all the theories were wrong. His father bought the building and closed off this apartment because it was HERS. It was his mother's. This was their secret home and this room they had prepared for their baby.

"Jedi Skywalker?" He could barely hear Tarask through the sandstorm. He felt her concern and Mara's crashing against his being. He closed his eyes and tried to focus. His mother, the beautiful offworlder who Aunt Beru had only met once; he had to remember how she described his mother. Very beautiful, kind but sad were Leia's fragments.

Mara drew Tarask out of the nursery, taking their protrusive concern further away. If he could just calm his shock, to see past the old ache of abandonment, to move past the fresher twinge of deception; answers were so close now. Then his comlink sounded and he almost swore. Leia was happy with her fragments of memory and she didn't need to interrupt his trying to find answers to the questions that plagued him. He ignored his sister's mental brushes of concern, sat down in a sand-colored chair that matched the sofas in the parlor, and picked up the stuffed animal that had sat in it. He didn't recognize the round, brown herbivore. He closed his eyes again and focused on the toy. Mother had picked it out and brought it to this room to this chair. The comlink sounded insistently.

"Skywalker?" Mara stepped up to him. Her shields wrapped tight around her, he should thank her for one less distraction.

Instead his fingers fumbled around his comlink. "I need… I just need…." He managed to get it free and held it out.

Her cool fingers slipped around his and took it. Then the chirping noise was gone. Leia's mental concern retreated across the district. He shielded himself from any mental intrusions and sank into a psychometry trance. _Mother? Mother?_

The sandstorm died away under the trance. But the Force was equally silent on what the toy in his hands had witnessed. He stretched for a glimmer of something, anything, and only brought back emptiness. _You guided me here for what? Tarask never even said her name!_

"Luke?" Han's voice broke through the trance. His hand seized Luke's shoulder and squeezed. "Come in, Kid, you're spooking the Fleet."

That was Han's code for Force demonstrations that were alarming people—him most of all—from when they both had military commissions. Luke released his trance with a sigh and opened his eyes. The light streaming in through the window behind him had changed angles. And from this corner of the room he saw the wall opposite the baby bed was also covered with a mural: a grassy meadow bordered by a shimmering lake that caught the water falling from the surrounding grassy cliffs. The two doors in that wall were painted so the mural would not break. "It's too far back. I can't sense anything of her."

Han found a footstool that matched the chair and dragged it closer before sitting on it, eye-level with Luke. "You never said anything about wanting to know about your mother."

"I figured everyone who could have told us anything about her was dead. So I tried not to dwell or meditated to find answers to what I couldn't ask."

Han frowned. "Jedi questions?"

Luke shook his head. "Not really. New versions of why did they die. Seeing everything you and Leia did to get ready for Jania and Jacen." His chest tightened into a knot, but he forced the words out. "Sometimes I wondered if we were wanted. Were Anakin and our mother looking forward to having a baby, going to raise it no matter what? Or was it just a wartime mistake to be turned over to the Jedi? I don't feel any Dark Side echoes here, so I guess that proves conception was before Anakin fell."

"You should have said something. You shouldn't keep stuff like that bottled up."

"You and Leia were both so excited about the twins; I didn't want to ruin that. And then you got sent off to recruit smugglers and the whole Thrawn mess started." Luke shrugged. It wasn't much of an excuse, and when Han had that expression on his face even he knew it wasn't a good excuse.

"Leia's gonna worry regardless. You might as well 'fess up so she can schedule the worrying between meetings." Han leaned back and swept the room with turns of his head. "You got an answer though, in the most roundabout way possible." Luke frowned in confusion. "Kid, nobody makes a nursery for an unwanted child," Han explained.

The knot of feelings that Luke disliked dwelling on loosened in his chest. He found he could breathe easier now. "That's true, just the time and money spent on these murals. Do you know if that's Naboo?" He pointed to the waterfall meadow wall.

"Never landed there. But it doesn't look like they expected twins either. Jacen and Jania have separate cribs, even if they pitch a fit when we try to use them. Where does Naboo fit in?"

"Tarask, the manager of the complex, said the last tenant was the senator for the Chommell sector during the Clone Wars and said her home planet was Naboo. I'll ask her for the name when I apologize for zoning out on her and Mara." Luke stood with a stretch and studied the starfighters hanging from the mobile. They were built from model kits, three of two different types for a total of six. He recognized one: the ovoid pilot compartment between two flat wings design that the A-wings went back to and two vertical side flaps that eventually became the TIE-fighter signature look. "An ETA-2, the Jedi flew them in the Clone Wars. I don't recognize this one."

Han joined him and they stared at the second yellow and silver model. Its shape made it more of a T-wing than the actual T-wing. The twin engines sat on the ends of the wing at the front of the center fuselage and the pilot canopy and astromech droid socket sat at the rear before it tapered into a graceful point. "Oh," he said. "That's a Naboo starfighter; they stopped making them right after the Clone Wars. Naboo and Tatooine, Naboo and Jedi; it is like Leia and me finding Alderaanian and Corellian things for the kids. You should keep it." Luke looked up at him disapprovingly. "They don't make those models even as toys anymore, and we already have mobiles for Jacen and Jania. That's all I'm saying."

Luke nodded. "I'll take it." He needed packing materials though; the delicate ends of the models could break off by putting it loose in an airspeeder. "I wonder why it was left. Tarask said she packed up all the personal belongings and sent them to Naboo before my father bought the building."

"I hope you didn't spook her, so you can ask. Though I've got a question for you right now." Han smirked, and Luke didn't need the Force to warn him about the teasing to follow. "Why are you and Mara looking at apartments? Does Leia need to have the talk with her?"

"No," Luke grimaced, "she won't need to after Mara runs to the other side of Coruscant to get away from this." He waved his hand at the nursery. "She's probably packing up her clothes at my place right now."

That derailed whatever Han was about to say. "Wait, clothes at your place?" He looked equally confused and congratulatory.

"She's using my guest room. Her quarters got vandalized yesterday, all her clothes got ripped apart, and the vandal left a sashoba dancing outfit behind."

"Is that why the Noghri and Palace Security are extra grumpy today?"

"I alerted the Noghri about it. The sleemo got past Palace Security somehow. Mara wants to move out of the Imperial Palace, so she's responsible for her own security. I have an empty apartment with a nursery Leia and I never got to sleep in." He grimaced again. "She won't want it now, not with this baggage."

Han frowned. "She was still here when I got here. Maybe this baggage isn't scary compared to her own. Come on, let's find her."

* * *

I didn't put myself through _Attack of the Clones_ or _Revenge of the Sith_ again nor did I find any reference books of settings and layout of Star Wars buildings among my libraries while I was writing. Since my extensive Googling only found people creating the veranda and nothing else in the apartment, I made my own layout with what Wookieepedia mentioned, what I remembered from the screen, and necessary rooms for any apartment (bathrooms, kitchens). My drawing is hideous, so I'm not sharing that. I have found ebook copy of _Star Wars Complete Locations_ illustrated by Hans Jenssen and Richard Chasemore since finishing the rough draft, but it still doesn't have Padmé's apartment. So please don't get nit-picky about the apartment unless you want to share scans/images that will improve the description.

I have no interest in writing fix-it fic for the prequels, but if I had to I would add back in Padmé's political storyline (making it clear that it is leading to the Rebel Alliance) and have some scenes with her making a nursery. Because Padmé wanted to go back to Naboo to have the twins but events conspired to keep her and Anakin from making that trip. She didn't get medical checks to keep the pregnancy secret, nor did she tell anyone else. Eventually nesting kicked in and she started decorating the nursery with probably only Threepio's help and her ex-boyfriend who became an artist, who did the murals for her. But Anakin made the mobile out of the parts she gathered. I like the image of him carefully gluing models of the vehicles he had flown in between nightmares and battles and political machinations between Palpatine and the Jedi Council.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Luke's heart-aching mental shout of _Mother!_ inside the obvious nursery still had Mara's senses reeling. The pain was old and familiar to him and bled like a reopened wound. She was impressed that he had remained standing even as he had teetered and gaped in front of the complex manager.

She kept her pull and push on Irella Tarask gentle as she moved the older woman back down the hall towards the parlor. Tarask kept looking back over her shoulder. "Oh dear, is he all right? I know the room is so obviously a nursery but it can be redecorated. I didn't send those baby things to her parents, since the baby died with her. It seemed too cruel."

So that's the story that was given out, Mara snarled in her mind. Retroactively, she was ashamed of her callous phrasing after Wayland when she had confronted him over what he hadn't told her about his parentage. Holed up in his cabin on the _Wild Karrde_ , having just woken up from the healing trance he had treated her with, and she had flung 'What woman would have reproduced with Darth Vader?' in his face. His stoic resolve to answer all her questions had cracked with sorrow. 'I don't know; no one is left to tell us who she was.'

Hiding her inner turmoil, she continued to pat Tarask as she guided her to the door. "It's okay; it's a Jedi thing. But you never know how long one will last, so we should let you get back to your work. We'll see you again before we leave."

"Oh, but I didn't even show you the master bedroom suite!" Tarask twisted out of Mara's grasp right in front of the turbolift.

"That's fine, I'll look at it while he's in his trance. We'll see you again before we leave." Mara smiled, the pleasant one she usually reserved for one of Karrde's compliments, because this woman was not the one responsible for Luke's shock and pain. And set her body between Tarask and the doorway back to the parlor.

Tarask nodded with a slight frown. "Very well. Anyone at the front desk can escort you to my office. I'll leave word with them."

Mara heaved a sigh once the turbolift headed down. She didn't know what to do now. What she wanted to do was shake the dead Jedi who had decided Luke's past was off-limits to him until their teeth fell out. They were supposed to be better than the Emperor who stole her past! His mentors hurt him and never answered for it but they were dead and out of her reach. Thoughts like that wouldn't help Luke, and she had to help him now. She shielded her thoughts up tight.

Did one treat emotional shock the same as physical? No one had covered that one in her medpac training. All she could do is judge for herself, but she doubted wrapping him in a blanket would ease the stabbing betrayal and the old ache of denied longing he was suffering from.

He sat in the yellow chair in the corner near the window and held the stuffed animal toy that had previously rested in the seat. Not collapsed on the floor was good. His comlink was chirping like his astromech. Not answering the comm wasn't good. She crossed the room to him. "Skywalker?"

His anguish was as clear now as it had been when his sister arrived in C'baoth's throne room on Wayland, but he was fighting to control it. His fingers fumbled around his comlink. "I need… I just need…." It came loose without him opening his eyes and he held out the chirping device.

His hand was much warmer than hers. Was that a shock symptom or was it just from clenching his fists? He wanted the chirping comlink gone, so she carried it out of the nursery with her. She answered it once she reached the parlor again. "Skywalker's comlink."

"Mara?" It was Leia Organa Solo on the other end of the link. "What's wrong with Luke?"

So she felt that all the way across the district. The Skywalker twins could make anyone feel inadequate about their Force skills, and Mara had been training more regularly than Leia. "The Jedi is having an emotional upheaval right now. I think we stumbled upon who your mother was."

"Our mother? How? Where are you?"

"In the penthouse apartment of the Senate Apartment Complex." Mara stared out the windows at the surrounding buildings. "Vader didn't decorate this place, if you're worried about that. I was expecting to find a stash of lightsabers from Jedi he killed. I don't know what your brother expected, but a nursery wasn't on his list."

"I can't get out of these meetings today. I'm sending Han over."

"There's a private airspeeder dock on the veranda. That will be more discreet than him running through the lobby." Mara pulled out her datapad with the file of all the details Luke had on this apartment, which included the code through the shield. She passed the information through to Leia and signed off.

She peered into the nursery now that the comlink was silent again. Luke had dropped into a meditative trance, still holding onto the brown toy. She pocketed his comlink and left him to his psychometric trance. She might as well go through the master bedroom suite to get to the veranda.

The double doors at the end of the hallway opened into the largest bedroom of the three, and larger than anything Mara had ever slept in. But it was a simple room for the size. The bronzium-decorated ribs had continued down the hall from the parlor and around the dome-like side. One wide space between the ribs was filled with three horizontal panels of clari-crystalline windows from floor to ceiling. A glass-topped table stood in front of the window; whatever decorations it had once held had been packed up and sent to Naboo. The bed was wide enough for two people and dressed in shades of gray and rose with a pile of pillows against the headboard. Even more pillows were stacked on the bench at the foot of the bed. Round glass-topped side tables held round disk-shaped lamps within reach of the occupants of the bed. There was enough room to partition a sitting area in here. She wondered why Luke's mother hadn't.

The second door out of the master bedroom led into a wardrobe big enough to qualify as another bedroom. Who needed this much space for clothing? Mara shook her head and headed out the second door. That opened onto a landing for the steps down to the veranda and another doorway. That door slid open into a refresher as long as the master bedroom with two of everything, except for the tub raised up a step and set under a skylight. And the tub was big enough for two people. The tour should have started with that tub, because she really wanted to make an offer. Not that Skywalker was going to let her move into this apartment now.

On that note, she probed him through the Force. Still trancing. She left the amazing 'fresher and sat on the veranda. The cushions on the sofas were still comfortable. Solo didn't take as long as she feared. He parked a rental airspeeder from the Imperial Palace without the Wookiee or babies as passengers. He leaped out of the airspeeder's open-air canopy and his long legs took the steps up to the veranda floor in double time. "What's the intel? All Leia had time to tell me was Luke was in turmoil."

"It's emotional, but he's calmed down enough to try a psychometric trance. Vader bought the complex and had the apartment closed off almost thirty years ago after the last pregnant tenant died. Oh and everyone was told her baby died with her. I'm glad for Skywalker's sake that the nursery has a Tatooine mural covering one of the walls."

Solo knew what that meant and his appraising frown questioned how much she knew about the situation. Did he think she didn't deserve an explanation after the Noghri dropped that thermal detonator? But Solo only asked, "Where's Luke?"

She led the way back through the master bedroom suite and left Solo at the nursery door. She backed away, trusting Leia's knowledge of the two men and this situation, which was out of Mara's skill set. She gritted her teeth. There was no one to kill, no deal to make, no one to threaten, no one to bribe, no one to investigate. Wait.

The console in the office powered on without any alarms. Whatever maintenance droids Irella Tarask employed on this floor evidently kept the consoles usable as well. Tarask hadn't named the woman but she had given enough details to start an information search. Mara typed in "List of senators of the Chommell sector during the Old Republic" and started the information search.

The console moved slower than what she was used to. Ghent would have to get her something better, no matter where she ended up living. But the list filled in eventually and the last four names are what she focused on: Sheev Palpatine, Janus Greejatus, Horace Vancil, and Padmé Amidala.

She had been taught Palpatine's political career as a child, but the focus had shifted from his Senatorial sector once he had been elected Supreme Chancellor. She hadn't realized that many senators came after him. She brought up the biographical and political information on Padmé Amidala. One of Naboo's elected child monarchs, a ruling system that had never made sense to Mara, but her youth didn't stop her from ending the Trade Federation's subjugation of Naboo without any resources from the Old Republic. Eight years later, she was elected senator of the Chommell sector. She led the faction opposed to the establishment of an army to battle the Separatists, giving a speech only hours after an assassination attempt. Mara's eyebrows rose.

The holoimage of the woman that appeared bore more than a passing resemblance to Leia Organa Solo. Serious brown eyes gazed at the holorecorder, brown hair coiled into an elaborate upside-down dual-fan shape with a bun in the back, a small jeweled diadem rested in the center of her forehead, the high collar of the yellow underneath the blue velvet overdress was decorated in a beaded design that mimicked jewelry; this woman still demanded attention and knew how to dress for it. Leia had displayed that same skill at the celebratory ball for Thrawn's defeat. The image from the Senate Chamber was from early in her senatorial career. She was also listed as having fought at the Battle of Geonosis, the first battle officially declared of the Clone Wars, along with her Jedi bodyguards Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, Luke's father and future Darth Vader. This senator knew Luke's father and put a mural of Tatooine on the nursery wall. Mara picked one of the Amidala's last holovids available next.

It was a funeral, a state funeral judging by the crowds of people lining the street route the body's open pall took as it was paraded past. The somber crowd dressed in dark colors and held primitive fire sticks in the twilight of the planet, must be Naboo, Mara mused as she realized that barges on the water held even more spectators. The holorecorder moved in close as the pall was escorted past. Padmé Amidala's hair had been taken down and arranged around her face and shoulders with white flowers dotting it like stars. The aqua blue gown flowed over her swollen by pregnancy body and her hands rested on the top of the abdomen. Mara closed out of that file. Luke didn't need to see that right now. She glanced at the death details. That was the sparsest information she had ever seen, just blamed the death on the Jedi Rebellion against Emperor Palpatine. Senator Bail Organa returned Amidala's body to Naboo. Wasn't that suspicious of Leia's adoptive father? If Luke's insight needed further corroboration, comparing the travel times when Leia showed up on Alderaan and this funeral was a potential source of clues.

She opened up other holoimages from the last months of Amidala's life. The voluminous dresses continued to be made of luxurious fabrics but the shapes shifted from emphasis on her figure to a cone from the shoulders down, hiding her growing belly. Small wonder the wardrobe took up as much room as it did. She paused on one labeled "Senator Amidala and representatives of the Delegation of 2000 leaving Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's office." Her hair was pulled back in many tight coils so her serious frown was caught clearly by the holorecorder. Mara saw an echo of Luke's frown in it.

"See, I told you she was still here," Solo said as he and Skywalker entered the office. "Who is that?" They hemmed her in at the desk as they got closer to look at the console screen.

"Padmé Amidala, the last Old Republic senator of the Chommell sector," Mara answered. Skywalker's gaze riveted on the image of the young woman. "Irella Tarask said she didn't pack the baby stuff because the baby died with her. Bail Organa returned her body to Naboo for the funeral. And Anakin Skywalker was her bodyguard at the beginning of the Clone Wars."

"Everything is pointing to her being our mother. There's a resemblance between her and Leia." Skywalker's expression softened. "They didn't tell Aunt Beru she was a politician. I never found anything under Padmé Skywalker."

"The only way to be completely sure is to take a genetic sample to Naboo and compare with her medical records."

Skywalker glanced at her and took back the comlink she held out to him. "We'll probably go through the Coruscant records on her before taking a trip."

"That's enough fabric to cover the Falcon," Solo said. "I'm glad Leia never wanted to wear anything like that."

"That is a woman hiding her pregnancy, probably from the Jedi who'd steal her children." Mara realized she was letting her indignation with his mentors and the organization they had belonged to leak out in her bitter tone. "Sorry, Skywalker, but they did. Imperial propagandists had a practice of that to use against them." She could hear the mental echo of a woman's voice _please not my baby_ , and pushed it aside.

"At least when the Jedi took kids, they didn't leave a trail of bodies out of the families left behind like the Empire." Solo's voice was full of quiet menace, the most dangerous kind, and Mara felt herself wanting to snap back in self-defense. He and his twins were still here thanks to her.

But Luke spoke with a gentle firmness that punctured the menace. "The Order I start won't separate families. One day I'll have to put out a statement that I don't plan on re-instituting the practice." Mara blinked at him, trying to remember any other time he flat out said that the Jedi were wrong. Nothing was coming to her mind. "So," he continued, "do you think this apartment will work for you?"

"Well, I have plenty to blackmail the landlord with to get a below-market rental price." She turned her seat to look directly at him instead of the console screen.

Skywalker smiled. "No blackmail necessary. I want you to have it at what you can afford. Keeps it from becoming part of the Luke Skywalker tour."

"They're trying to expand to Hoth this year." Solo told them cheerfully.

Skywalker muttered something under his breath that sounded like "Fierfek why."

Mara kept the conversation on the apartment, but in all fairness, she had to point out the repercussions to him. "You know what I'm liable to do to protect my space," she said.

"Better for you to maim them with your sarcasm than for some poor restaurateur to be besieged."

"I can't afford what this place is worth or the remodeling necessary."

"I don't need the money."

"He really doesn't." Solo nudged her aside so he could look at the information she had found on the console. "But you will run out if you keep loaning money to Lando, Kid."

"That's an investment." He glanced at the next holoimage Solo opened: Amidala in the Senate Chamber again wearing a blue so dark it was almost purple and her hair pulled back with a winged headdress. "I'll cover the remodeling so don't worry about that cost. What's your rental budget?" She named her figure. He didn't blink. "Okay, let's go tell Tarask."

Solo looked up from the console display. "I'm under strict orders to bring you home for supper, Luke."

"Leia's actually getting to leave her office for supper?"

Solo turned an apologetic gaze to Mara. "I'm sure you're welcome too, under the circumstances."

"It's family stuff." She didn't think she needed to be present for any more Skywalker family stuff. "I can get take out and start redecorating leg work. It's fine."

Solo nodded as she stood up. "Okay, I'll meet you down in the lobby then." He sauntered out of the office and down the hall toward the master bedroom.

"What did you tell Tarask?" Skywalker asked as she turned off the console.

"That you were going into a Jedi trance," Mara answered. "Out of your control. I didn't think I should tell her she accidentally told you who your mother was."

"Thank you." He let her leave the room first.

It didn't take as long with Irella Tarask as Mara feared. The older woman insisted on speaking to Luke alone when it reached Mara's monthly rent. He didn't use the Force on her and judging Tarask's expression, she had come to her own conclusion as to why Mara rated such a low price. Mara sensed Tarask's pride in her discretion and her protection of her tenants. She wouldn't see her name paired with Skywalker's in the tabloids because Tarask said something. Solo took charge of Skywalker before Mara had finished signing the lease agreements. She promised to turn in the airspeeder Skywalker and she had rented this morning and they left. Mara shifted the conversation to the work the apartment needed. Tarask gave her the security firm, contractors, and suppliers she used in the rest of the complex. Mara wasn't completely sure what she wanted to change beyond the thirty-year-old appliances and computer equipment, but at least she had contacts for who could do the work.

Realizing how late it was, she opted to save contacting Ghent until tomorrow when she could track down whatever hole the New Republic had let the young man stuff himself into, stopped at a good diner on the way back to the Imperial Palace, and brought her meal back to Skywalker's quarters. The guest code unlocked the door and she sighed as she entered.

Artoo rolled into the foyer with a quiet beep that turned into a screech. His dome swiveled to do a sensor sweep of the hallway and the kitchen doorway. Then his whistles and beeps got angry. He rolled back and forth in the foyer, keeping Mara from advancing into the rooms.

"Shavit, really?" She shifted her food bag and activated her comlink. Artoo warbled and screeched again before she spoke into it.

"Is that Artoo?" Skywalker asked.

"Your droid is having some kind of fit," Mara said. Artoo buzzed her and extended his arc welder from its cavity in his white cylindrical body. "You zap me with that and I will feed it to you!"

"Give me a second." Skywalker ended the comm.

Mara shifted her food bag again so her right hand was free to go for her blaster or her lightsaber. The console in the parlor chimed for an incoming comm. "I'm pretty sure that's for you," Mara told the droid.

Artoo retracted his arc welder and rolled into the parlor. Mara took advantage of the opening and headed for the table. The droid connected his computer interface arm to the console and answered the comm. Skywalker's face appeared on the screen. "Artoo, will you please stop treating Mara like she's a hostile invader."

The droid's response typed on the screen on top of Skywalker's image, perfectly legible from Mara's vantage point as she unpacked her food. "You left with her. You did not return with her. She was programmed to deactivate you. Alarm is justified." His beeps and whistles followed along with the words.

"Alarm is not justified. Mara's not programmed to kill me anymore. I'm having supper with Leia and Han. Now knock off the bad behavior."

Artoo trilled questioningly. "Visiting Captain Solo and Princess Leia was not on your agenda today?"

Skywalker sighed. "Plans changed, Artoo. I just found out who our mother was and need to share that with Leia. Okay? I'll be home later."

The droid went so still and quiet, Mara thought that it had powered itself off. Then it whooped. "Just found out? You did not have this information before?"

"That's what just found out means, Artoo. Do we need Threepio to translate?"

"Jedi Master Yoda did not interface the information about Mistress Padmé to you on Dagobah?"

Skywalker's expression sagged. "No, he barely told me about Leia before he died." Then he frowned. "Mistress Padmé? Artoo, how do you know her name?"

Artoo unplugged himself from the console and let out a string of beeps and whistles angrier than the ones he directed to Mara in the foyer. He continued the tirade as he rolled out of the parlor.

"Artoo?" Skywalker called out. "Threepio, what did he just say?"

Mara heard the quarters' door slide open and reached the foyer's doorway to the parlor in time to see Artoo roll down the hall before the door slid shut again. She went to the console. "He hightailed it out of here."

The gold-plated protocol droid appeared behind Luke's head. "Master Luke, I really shouldn't translate what Artoo just said. It's not language appropriate for children. However, it was an invective directed at the mud-bogged, green-skinned troll organic."

Skywalker rubbed his face. "I guess he's on his way here. Enjoy your evening, Mara. I'll be home later."

"May the Force be with you." She ended the comm on the console. He needed all the help he could get with the mood his droid was in.

She ate her meal in blissful silence and studied the copy of the apartment's floor plan on her datapad. The veranda had to have more doors. She didn't care how shielded the other end was, open doorways were begging for trouble. If the wall between the central hallway and the dining room disappeared, that would make it one big room around the light well. That would make for a much better flow. Nothing was wrong with the color scheme or the guest bedroom suite. She would add a sofa to the master bedroom suite. That would be a nice spot to curl up at the end of the day that didn't scream 'work some more' like the sofa in the office would. The baby furniture would have to be replaced with an adult-sized bed, but she found herself feeling guilty about the idea of painting over those murals. They weren't holoimages on the walls, but art created out of paint. So she wouldn't paint over them. After all, the only people who would possibly use her guest rooms would be members of Karrde's organization and she could get away with telling them they were uncultured louts if they brought it up. She typed up her notes for a meeting with the contractors and was looking over her schedule for tomorrow to see when to fit it in. She had requests for ships already. Those meetings had to come first.

She cleaned up her meal and was in the process of moving to the sofa when her comlink alerted. It was Karrde. She routed the comm to the console and answered it. Her eyebrows rose at the level of encryption available. "Military grade," she murmured.

"Greetings, Mara." Talon Karrde smiled inside his goatee. "How secure is this connection?"

"A little less secure than one of Ghent's machines, but not by much. Too many important people comm Skywalker to have anything less secure."

Karrde's eyebrow rose. "You're at Skywalker's?"

Her employer was going to read all sorts of implications in that, and she had been circumspect in her earlier message to him. She gave him the expanded story now with all the details he could want.

Karrde listened to her gravely. "First, good job on getting the contract done. The terms have made the others in the Alliance happy. But you are going to have extra work keeping the oversight the New Republic has asked for."

Mara smirked. "Only in the near term. Once a year is reached without any criminal complaints, the oversight scales back. They should all consider themselves trading partners by then."

Karrde nodded. "Second, I'm glad you accepted Skywalker's aid."

"Are you?"

"If the vandalism is from disgruntled New Republic participants, having their Jedi on your side sends a definite message. I'd expect that would make them reconsider their actions. If the vandalism is from some unsavory aspect targeting you or me through you, the Jedi who destroyed the Empire and Jabba the Hutt protecting you will make them reconsider their actions."

She scowled. "I can protect myself."

"Of course, you can. I fully expect you to neutralize the threat while they're all busy gawking at Skywalker." He smiled at her chuckle. "I'll research the Columex angle. You concentrate on setting up your new home base and getting the shipping schedules active. We should be landing on Coruscant in a week, but not much longer than that. I'll comm you with the travel details once they're finalized."

"I've got _Wild Karrde_ last on the shipping list."

He nodded. "Spread the New Republic wealth around to our partners first. Where did you put Mazzic?"

"Third because he caused me grief. Clear skies, Karrde."

"See you soon." He ended the comm.

She sat cross-legged on the sofa facing the foyer, after removing her shoes, and immersed herself in her schedule for the next week. Tevv had messaged her that it would be two months before they could schedule the 'we finally signed the contract' ball. She replied that schedule was fine because it would take that long to get the shipping schedules set up where the smugglers could attend. Then she methodically went through who would get what days, leaving a big chunk of tomorrow free to find Ghent and hire contractors. Six months had built up a lot of shipping offers, and the New Republic had needed shipping before Thrawn had reared his blue head. She hoped the Alliance was ready with ships to take all this on.

The door to the quarters slid open and she jerked her head up. She felt Luke in the Force, much more at peace than how he had left her, before he entered the parlor. Surprise flickered across his face. "You didn't have to wait up for me."

"I wasn't," she lifted her datapad. "I was working and lost track of time." She looked up at the chrono and winced. No wonder she felt stiff, it had been hours. She uncrossed her legs while Skywalker dropped into the armchair. The astromech did not follow him into the parlor. "Where's your copilot?"

"Artoo dropped a bombshell on Threepio and he wasn't handling it very well. Han told Artoo to get Threepio back to normal, or he'd drop them both off on Tatooine to stay."

"You'd let him do that?"

"I let him threaten; Artoo deserved it at that point. He was telling the past in such a way to upset Threepio. They are doing a file share or something, should take the rest of the night." Skywalker leaned forward. "Artoo, he was my mother's droid and he flew with my father. He still had recordings of their wedding and Leia and my births. Do you want to see?"

Mara raised her eyebrow. "Your birth? Not particularly."

"Their wedding."

Her head reared back with his words. Vader married? He had shown nothing but contempt for so many married members of the Imperial Court. But no, it was Anakin Skywalker's wedding even though Jedi didn't marry. Luke's face was beginning to fall and he had gone through enough today. "All right."

He pulled a hand-held holoprojector out of his pocket. She moved to the other end of the sofa to see the blue-tinted figures. A young man with short, shaggy hair dressed in a Jedi robe held the hand of the shorter woman dressed in lace. The man behind them must be the officiant. Her first thought was Luke and Leia got their heights from their mother because Anakin was already taller than the older officiant. Her second thought she actually shared. "They're both so young."

"It was right after the Battle of Geonosis and they kept it secret from everyone. He was twenty and she was twenty-four and they had already fought in two battles together." His gaze on the holovid was a bit awe-struck. "I wasn't ready to get married at twenty."

"I wasn't either," Mara admitted. "So if your droid knew all this, why hadn't he told you already?"

"He thought Master Yoda had told me. Threepio was wiped and the last owner he told me about was on Leia's ship, so no reason at all to connect him and Artoo with my parents. His blue eyes twinkled. "I'm older," he said proudly.

"And what does Leia say to that?"

"She's smarter." He rolled his eyes with a smile as he turned off the holoprojector. "She's invited you to come see the twins, if you want. They're almost crawling and are reacting to real interactions. Just comm her if you want to."

"To check in on who I saved or is your sister one of those mothers who thinks everyone is obsessed about their babies?" Mara realized she was fidgeting with her datapad and stopped.

"The first one. Leia doesn't thrust Jacen and Jania on people who don't care about babies. She won't be upset if you'd rather not meet them until they're talking." He walked over to the console and set the holoprojector onto the desk. He wanted to ask her something and didn't know how she'd react. How she felt about babies probably, not that it was any of his business.

"I'll comm her about it after I get moved. I don't think I'll have time for social calls before then."

"Okay." He didn't turn around, but his shoulders tightened. "Mara, did you really think I would be like Palpatine and Thrawn and steal babies from their families?"

Not the baby question she had expected, and she probably should have. "You're very enthusiastic about recreating the Jedi Order. They took babies away and raised them to be loyal to the organization above family." He whirled around to face her with a spike of justification jabbing through the Force. She raised her hand to stop him from speaking. "That's something I will always have a problem with, no matter who does it. Did I think you'd arrive at someone's medcenter bed and demand custody of the Force Sensitive baby? No, of course not. But I did have a worry about what would happen in the future. You never said it wouldn't happen until today."

Understanding replaced Skywalker's need to explain himself. "I thought it was obvious, at least to you. You know me. I should have explained."

"To be fair, it hadn't come up before."

"Well, I'll be sure to put a statement out once I figure out how to handle more students. And put in our history lessons what the Empire turned giving children up into so that is why we don't separate families any more." He returned to the armchair and leaned back. "Oh, I want the baby bed mobile. I don't know if I told you."

Mara shook her head. "I think you forgot, but that's okay. Do you want the baby bed too?"

"I don't need a baby bed, and its safety features are probably thirty years out of date." He focused on her again. "We could look for your birth family. I have access to the archives."

"I've looked." Her datapad was still on. She turned it off. "Remember the codes I used on the _Chimera_ 's computers?" He nodded. "When Palpatine gave them to me, I used them on the archives to find all my records. I don't really know what I thought I'd do with it. Go back and tell them I was the Emperor's assassin? I was so stupid and so proud." He winced in sympathy. "The first record I found only identified me as an Imperial citizen, age five, and named Mara Jade. No home planet, no relatives listed. Short of taking a genetic sample to every human settlement in the Empire's old borders, there's no other way to find any relatives. If Palpatine left any behind when he took me." She stood up. "Thanks for the offer, Farmboy. But concentrate on your relatives right now."

"Okay. Good night, Mara."

"Good night."

* * *

So way back in the late 80s and early 90s, before the Thrawn Trilogy was published, I made friends with a couple of guys who roleplayed _Star Wars_ with the West End Games material and joined their group. We bought books and passed them around. I ended up buying most of the EU Legends novels (stopping after _Black Fleet Crisis_ ), but I almost submitted to the _Star Wars Adventure Journal_ before it ceased publication (alas graduating high school and transitioning to university delayed writing the project). Hidden away in the WEG supplemental material was a little detail that C3P-O had been memory wiped. I headcanoned that R2-D2 had not and I'm positive I wasn't the only one that was happy when the Prequels confirmed that as a fact.

But if Artoo hadn't been memory wiped, why didn't he tell Luke and Leia about their parents? EU Legends came up with a convoluted plot that he had been reprogrammed not to reveal the information, and the programming started messing up our favorite astromech. (I'm gleaming this from Wookieepedia. I don't know why this was considered a better idea than just setting the reveal earlier in the EU Legends time line. Right after _Truce at Bakura_ would have been good. Maybe it had something to do with changing publishing houses.)

Isn't it a lot easier for Artoo to assume that Yoda told Luke about his parents? There's a lot of conversations the droid missed out on during their stay on Dagobah since Artoo didn't fit inside Yoda's hut. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Bail Organa both died before they could get around to it, so Yoda was the last organic who could tell Luke the truth about his courageous and principled mother. Luke never mentioned it, so he must be satisfied with the answer he got.

To call Artoo livid on his way up to Leia and Han's quarters is downplaying his wrath. Alas we will never know if an arc welder can be used on a Force ghost.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Anor snarled as he looked over his messages. The Thalassian Slavers wouldn't have a sale ready for another month. The Zygerrian Slavers Guild hadn't had any humans when he stopped on his way home. Executor Sedriss would not be pleased with one product. Anor wanted to lose his frustrations in another's suffering. No, he wanted to lose his frustrations in his kriff-toy's suffering. And his weekly report on her was delayed. He sat in his office, the hub of his mansion, and waited for the Nikto's message. Everything was functioning normally; though the automated systems, housekeeping and guard droids lacked a stable that he had designed them to look after. Columex had been reasonably price when viewed for his eventual retirement from the Imperial Court. He couldn't complain about the cost of living or services. Their short-sighted laws weren't the true cause of his lack of slaves. That would be the damned rebels actually winning and expanding their territory.

They wouldn't steal his kriff-toy on top of everything else.

The console beeped for an incoming comm, originating from Jus on Coruscant. Anor's eyebrows rose. What had prompted the Nikto to upgrade to a live comm? He answered it promptly. "I trust you have complied with the expanded perimeters."

The blue-tinted holovid of Sarskokrour Jus ran the talons of his hand behind the ridge that his horns on the left side of his face grew out of. "Your expanded perimeters is what we have to discuss. It wasn't easy, but I got into the target's rooms inside the Imperial Palace and trashed them. Left behind both parts of your message."

Anor leaned back in his conform-cushioned chair. "I pay you enough to cover evading whatever rebel scum is guarding the Imperial Palace now."

"You don't pay me enough to deal with the Jedi." Jus' finger stabbed at his holovid on the other end of the comm. "The target moved in with him that night."

Anor's teeth snapped together as he jolted forward. "She what?"

"It's in the internal security report. 'Trader Jade accepted the hospitality of Jedi Skywalker and is currently residing in his quarters.' They must have decided that wasn't discreet enough or maybe your woman needs more space because the next day, they toured the Senate Apartment Complex, which he owns, and she signed a lease for the penthouse. I got a copy of the lease along with the footage file and Imperial Palace's security reports about the incident. She got an insane deal on the rent fees."

Anor glanced down at the indicator. The file Jus mentioned was still uploading. "How can he own a building on Coruscant? He's a Jedi and was a dirt-grubbing Outer Rim farmer before he turned rebel."

"Vader left it to him, left everything to him." The sagging wrinkles around Jus' mouth made it look like it frowned. "Skywalker is one of the richest people in the New Republic hierarchy on top of what he can do as a Jedi. The old set didn't get married and didn't flaunt their women, but Skywalker is bucking that tradition and keeping his mistress in style."

"She is not his mistress!" Anor ground his teeth together after he shouted.

Jus tilted his head and his look of pity was almost human. "She isn't leaving Coruscant. I'm not breaking into the Senate Apartment Complex for you to try to chase her off planet. That place has the combined security of a hundred worlds. Don't even bother offering me more credits. It's not happening."

He stopped grinding his teeth long enough to say, "Continue with the surveillance then."

"Right, Jus out."

Anor stared at the space the holovid had occupied and clenched and unclenched his fists above his lap. The audacity of the man to claim ownership of his kriff-toy, the arrogance of his kriff-toy to think that she was free to give her favors to traitors of the Emperor. She would be punished while Skywalker watched. He'd see the rebel scum bleed. Actually, he had the perfect cage for the Jedi. It was only a matter of getting him into it. Then it was only a matter of time and leverage to break him.

The console beeped for an incoming comm. Anor frowned. He wasn't expecting any other comms today. He glanced at the originating information and his hand froze over the accept button. This comm hailed from the _Eclipse_. It beeped again. He swallowed hard, put all thoughts of revenge out of his mind, and accepted the comm. "Anor here."

The holoprojector revealed the face of a pale-skinned man with black hair sculpted into spikes. The brown of his eyes managed to gleam through the blue tint. "Bendak Anor," his voice lolled with amusement. "What have you been up to?"

Anor blinked. Might as well admit what the Force user already knew. "I have been procuring product for you, but the slave markets are not what they once were."

"And chasing after Mara Jade." His voice hardened like duracrete.

That hadn't mattered before, why did it matter now? Anor's mouth dried so much that he was only able to squeak out, "Executor Sedriss—"

"Don't waste both our times with excuses. Our Master had hoped you would realize your lust for the woman was unattainable on your own, but you evidently must be told. Our Master has plans for Mara Jade and they do not include you. Desist your pursuit of her now."

The words collided with his gut and took Anor's breath away. He couldn't lose his kriff-toy again, not after all his loyal service. His hands curled into fists again out of sight of the holorecorder lens. Sedriss' narrowed eyes bored into him. "I will take no actions against Mara Jade," Anor said as if the words physically pained him. And they did.

Sedriss' eye flicked down like he was consulting a datapad. "Good, now with that settled, we need every Force sensitive you can procure for us. You said the slave markets are not proving useful?"

Anor swallowed but his saliva barely worked down his throat. Force sensitives? That's what the machine tested for? "I've only found one in the last week. But the Krill Senth Cresh offered to target their raids for what we need."

"For what our Master needs." Sedriss focused on Anor again. "Open up discussions for Krill Senth Cresh raids. Maybe they'll have an idea of what planets breed Force sensitivity in their populations. We won't be able to accept delivery of the one you found until the end of this month. Keep it alive until then. Sedriss out." He ended the comm.

Anor shut off his open line. He couldn't keep the infant in the sed-box that long. Did he have a droid that could run a nanny program in the meantime? That was a solvable problem, even if he had to buy a new droid to care for the brat, unlike the problem of retrieving his kriff-toy. His fists pounded the desktop carved from greel wood. The Emperor died so she was no longer his Hand. That alone meant she was his again! But Sedriss would kill him if he went against his directive. Jus didn't have the skills nor the position to drive her off Coruscant. And that wasn't even considering the fear the Nikto had for the rebel scum Jedi.

His fingers sprang open and he pressed his palms against the desktop. He had made no promises covering Luke Skywalker. And if his kriff-toy followed Skywalker here, agreed to her servility in exchange for her lover; well, that didn't break his word either. A grin split his white beard. They wanted Force sensitives. If he gave them the most infamous Force user in the galaxy and known traitor, they had to let him keep his kriff-toy. A Jedi was worth more than one traitorous Hand.

* * *

Contractors could move fast when the money was right. A little over a week after her quarters in the Imperial Palace had been vandalized, Mara was officially moved into the penthouse of the Senate Apartment Complex with all her improvements made. Not that Mara was left with much time to enjoy her new home. The shower dryer buffeted her skin and hair dry and she stepped out of it, gazing forlornly at the tub set up in front of the showers that she had hoped she would get to use her first night. A long soak with soft music was now her reward for returning from Balamak. She pulled on her robe and headed into the still-too-large wardrobe room. Adding a hidden compartment for the armory hadn't eaten up the space, and her meager clothes collection took up less. She shook her head. Clothes accumulation would happen as it always did; she'd buy something when she needed it. Right now, she had to get dressed for tonight.

Her comlink sounded while she was braiding her hair. He didn't want a break from her being underfoot already? She tied it off, answered the comlink, and studied her hairstyle critically in the mirror. "Finished babysitting duties already?"

"It was mediation," Skywalker answered. "But yes, it's over thanks to Leia's homework on conflict resolutions. I have something for you. It's not out of my way to stop by."

She frowned in her mirror. She didn't have anything to leave behind in his quarters. "Sure, I'm still at home."

"Great, I'm in an airspeeder. See you in a few minutes."

She looked down at her wrist-mounted comlink before shrugging. Skywalker would make sense when he got here or he wouldn't. She slipped on the green boots that matched her jumpsuit. One last check in the wardrobe mirror and then she wrapped the heavier belt around her waist and clipped her lightsaber to it. She didn't plan on using it, but after what happened in the Palace, she was loathed to leave it behind. And at this point in her life, she had spent more time armed than unarmed. The sleeves were made of lace from the wrist to her elbow, so her hidden holdout blaster was out. A heavy blaster strapped to her thigh would send the wrong message to the restaurant staff. She finally decided a vibroknife slipped into the boot sheath was enough protection.

The setting sun streamed through the clouds and around the fellow skyscrapers to bathe the veranda in a rosy glow. A breeze wafted the gauzy white curtains she had left tied to the columns. She sank down onto the beige sofa and tucked one of the red pillows behind her back. The skylanes of traffic moved in orderly lines above the skyscrapers; the signal lights of the airspeeders already visible in the darkening sky. The water splashing in the fountain reminded her of her denied bath, but it was still relaxing. She deserved relaxing.

True to his estimate, Skywalker brought a small, two-person airspeeder alongside the docking pad shortly after she moved to the veranda. Mara stood up to greet him and noted that there was enough space for Karrde to dock, not that she expected Skywalker to stay long enough to run into him. He wore a hooded brown robe that didn't trip him as he climbed onto the dock with a box in his hands. Well, both participants in the mediation had wanted a Jedi so he dressed the part, layering a creamy white tabard and tunic over a black undertunic. You'd think someone in his circle would introduce him to more colors. Technically, white and black weren't even colors.

His eyebrows rose when he caught sight of her and his step up onto the ledge faltered. He recovered and crossed the veranda's inlaid circles without mishap. "That's not your usual style." She tilted her head, wondering what about this jumpsuit made it so unusual. The lace covering her forearms, shoulders, and the slashes through the bodice matched the rest of the green silky fabric. That must be what he was talking about because she did wear colors. Lace was not the fabric of choice to wear when going smuggling, she agreed. His cheeks reddened. "Not bad, just different. Fancier."

She better take control of the conversation before it crashed and burned under his piloting. "Karrde and I have a meeting over dinner tonight. What did I leave behind?"

"No, it's a new homestead gift." He set the plain box in her hands. "It's customary on Tatooine when someone branches out onto their own homestead the community gives them something to help."

"And what if the new farmer doesn't need any help?"

"Then you can have fun with what you give if they have all the basics." He clasped his hands behind his back so she couldn't thrust the box back into them. "But you always have one old-timer who insists that everyone gets water and bread."

She succumbed to the inevitable and pried the lid of the box open. "This better not be a bottle of water sloshing in here." His blue eyes danced when she met them before peering down into the box. The sloshing was coming from an unopened bottle of starshine with a ribbon around its neck. A large tin box was familiar from a peek into Skywalker's kitchen cabinets. "Starshine and hot chocolate mix?"

"Everyone I know is getting starshine until I have a normal amount left. I know you don't like hot chocolate as much as I do, so this way there'll be some when I come over." He pressed his lips together, fighting the smile threatening to expand.

"That's pretty conniving, Skywalker. Is that my bad influence or Solo's?"

Now the grin broke out. "Ask Chewie how I got Han to help rescue Leia from the Death Star. He's an impartial witness."

That's a conversation she'd probably need the starshine for. Especially since she didn't know Shyriiwook and Threepio would probably help with translations. She shook her head and turned to set the box on the sofa behind her. "You didn't have to, really. Haven't you done enough for me?" She faced him again and a smaller package in brightly colored paper was in his hands.

"Those were jokes; this is the real gift."

"This better be the last gift. I can't—" she tugged off the disguising paper and looked down at the cover of a datacard collection of recorded performances given in the Galaxies Opera House covering the years she hadn't lived on Coruscant. He had heard that bit of wistful conversation she had had with Tevv when they were all eating. He had heard and remembered it.

"You do like it?" He asked softly.

She looked up at his concerned face. It wasn't an extravagant gift with a sizable resale value, but he had paid attention to her for a trifle that would make her happy. And it wasn't an attempt to buy her favor. It was like Chin always bringing her caf brewed just the way she liked it when she was studying reports or Aves deciding he couldn't be bothered landing or taking off and letting her have the helm. But everything Luke had done for her, had been doing for her since they met, was creating chasm in the reciprocity that paying for a few meals and chasing out a building manager could not bridge. She had no idea what would. "Thank you. I…" The lightsaber was heavy on her belt. "What could I possibly give you?" came out of her mouth before she stopped it.

He shrugged as his gaze fell to the floor. "I wish you…" he trailed off and began again. "My birthday is two days after Remembrance Day and I like chocolate."

What she could offer sprang into her mind while he spoke. She had eaten enough meals with him to recognize his formidable sweet tooth, but his other weakness was Force lore. Lore, experiment, and practice: anything that led to discovering something new or erased. "The bond beyond all bonds," she said. "You've been meditating on that. We can make one for a while. You want to try it out."

"I do," he said slowly, "but you're not obligated."

"It's the perfect time." Happy anticipation fluttered her stomach. She wanted to do something to make Luke happy. He had done so much for her, this would even the balance and make her feel less like all the favors were stacking up against her ability to pay. She turned and put the datacards and wrapping paper into the box with the starshine and hot chocolate. "I have to leave tomorrow for Balamak, so we can test the distance connection."

"Oversight starting already?"

She shrugged. "The sooner it begins, the sooner they realize smugglers prefer to work with people who pay them. I was going to comm you about it after meeting with Karrde."

He nodded. "Okay, if you really want to do this, a mutual training bond is where we'll start. You'll create one with me, I'll create one with you, and we won't end them."

She took a deep breath to center herself and stepped closer to him. "I'm ready."

They didn't sit or drop into full meditation, but stood facing each other before closing their eyes. She anchored the training bond in her own self like Luke had shown her and sent the tendril to his luminous presence in the Force. It found his bond stretching toward her. They wrapped around each other, like twisted rope, until it reached his anchor and his reached her anchor. Then her consciousness launched, slammed into Luke's, and they merged. Swirling kaleidoscope of images and experiences that all felt like hers, even when she knew clearly they weren't. She had never watched a building burn on Tatooine or climbed vines in a jungle. The whirlwind of emotions buffeted and all they could do was ride it to the center. The still and quiet center full of steady warmth and support cradled them as the warmth coalesced into want. Physical sensations joined the collection next: awareness of rough woven and silky fabric under fingers, warm puffs of air brushing over cheeks, bodily mass trying to merge as the rest had.

Mara's comlink chimed.

The merging separated into separate selves. Green eyes opened and stared into blue ones hovering centimeters from her face, lips close enough to brush together. His arms were wrapped around her back. Her hands pressed against his chest. Desire pooled in her belly and she wanted to taste his mouth, feel his skin, wrap herself around him. The tremors through her core didn't stop when their hands fell away from each other. She felt an echo of dismay as they backed away in unison.

Mara took a deep breath to answer her comm. "Jade."

"Karrde here. I need a code to get through the shield."

Luke whirled around scanning the space outside the veranda with an alarm she felt but did not put into her voice. "Sorry about that. Transmitting it now. See you in a few."

Luke turned back to her when she ended the comm. "He must be on the other side of the building. Should I go?"

"He'll spot you leaving. Might as well stay and say hello; that'll look less suspicious." She focused on him. "What was that?"

"Side effect." The confidence he put into his voice did not assuage the uncertainty she felt from him. "Our bodies were trying to get as close as our minds were, that's all. Was it uncomfortable? Do you want to end this?" He licked his lips.

"I've carried on with missions through more embarrassing situations than that. Unless you want to stop?" He shook his head. "Okay, then. There's Karrde."

The smuggler chief and information broker swung around the side of the building and around Luke's airspeeder to dock his own. His expression was pleasant, but Mara was sure all kinds of sardonic thoughts were running through his head. He wore the suit of a moneyed Coruscanti, which would compliment her jumpsuit. "Skywalker, it's good to see you. I wondered if we'd have the chance given how the fate of the New Republic isn't at stake nor has anyone scheduled a social function this month."

Luke clasped Karrde's hand firmly. "Hello, Karrde. I was just bringing a homesteading gift for Mara."

"And over did it by two," Mara added as she picked up the box. "Which makes up for other people not getting my new home anything."

Karrde touched his chest with a look of mocking affront. "Is that an accusation? I gave you a ship."

"You did not give me a ship," she corrected. "You're loaning me a ship. If you gave me the ship, I would have the transfer records."

"I named it after you." Luke made a noise of polite enquiry and Karrde turned to him. " _Jade's Escape_ , has a flair doesn't it?"

She felt Luke's flare of amusement. "I see why you didn't let her have it while she was still dealing with the committee. What is it?"

"A YT-1760," Mara answered, "small enough for one person to fly alone but big enough to haul cargo. And you kept voting to send the committee to Hoth."

"My uncle always said suffering builds character. I don't want to keep you from your reservations." Luke stepped back from their tableau. "May the Force be with you, Mara. I'll see you when you get back from Balamak?" She nodded and he smiled, jumping into his airspeeder with a wave to both her and Karrde.

Karrde didn't say anything while Mara put away her gifts, but he continued holding onto a smirk far longer than the Jedi Knight found the ship's name amusing joke required. She could wait him out. The wait ended once the airspeeder merged into the skylane. "If you needed more time," he said as he adjusted the speed, "you should have told me to drive around the district."

"Whatever do you think we needed more time for?"

"Mara, please. I know all the signs of a couple who doesn't want an audience."

Best to get him off that train of thought and maybe she could ignore the still thrumming want that had settled in her core. Had it been so long without any sexual contact to posit Luke as the one to resume it with? He was an attractive man and she knew he would be an attentive lover, but this was not the time to indulge in those kind of thoughts. Not while sitting right next to her employer who had a wistful fantasy about Luke and herself since his rescue from the _Chimera_. "I know it thwarts all your match-making ambitions, but all we were doing was setting up a Force experiment."

"A Force experiment." Karrde's flat tone plainly didn't believe her. "Well, I'm always game to hear what you can do with the Force."

 _The better to exploit my abilities,_ she thought. But it was unfair since all Karrde had ever asked of all her talents was to keep their people safe. "I'll tell you about it once we have some data."

He hummed interrogatively. "Just what are your intentions with the Jedi training? Do I have to worry about Skywalker luring you away?"

"I'm just learning more of what I'm capable of." What the Emperor claimed she wasn't capable of. The stab of pain from that mental admission was duller than it had been. Price of coming to terms with the past she guessed. "I haven't sworn an oath to defend the galaxy from evil. And I doubt the galaxy would take such an oath from me."

"The galaxy could do worse than you," he said. She gave a little half-smile, touched by his loyalty to her that she didn't deserve. "Moving onto to people who don't share that opinion, I left a data packet of everything I could find out about Columex in the _Jade's Escape_."

"Use of a ship and reading material while I'm in hyperspace; that's why you're my favorite employer ever."

"Given what you've said of your previous employers, that's not a difficult contest to win. So I take it the answer is no, Imperial Palace Security doesn't have a suspect or a theory."

Mara shook her head. "They're still working on it. Anything else interesting happening in the galaxy while I've been cooped up in committee meetings?"

"The Deep Core is still considered Imperial territory?" he asked.

"Imperials still control it, but they're a quiet bunch. There's been no move from it to connect with the Pentastar Alignment nor did they do anything when Thrawn was running through the New Republic. My theory is the governors, moffs, or fortress commanders left in charge decided they were fine on their own and have no desire to become warlords."

"Does New Republic Intelligence share that theory?"

"I've been a little too busy to compare theories with New Republic Intelligence. But I don't blame them for not throwing resources in that mess. Between the astronomical calamities, unknown hyperspace routes, gravity mines and jammers the Imperial scattered everywhere, it's safer for their people to concentrate on the warlords who think they can rule the galaxy and leave those alone who are leaving them alone."

Karrde frowned. "That may be changing. Shipping has picked up heading into the Deep Core."

"What are they importing? Have we been hired?"

Karrde shook his head as he left the skylane for a platform's landing strip street. "We haven't nor has anyone in the Smuggler's Alliance been approached. I'm still trying to find out what the shipments are. But I think the Deep Core's isolation is coming to an end."

"Are you telling the New Republic?"

"Now is probably a good time to see how generous Intelligence is feeling toward tips." He stopped the airspeeder in front of the restaurant's valet station. Mara climbed out of the vehicle and waited at the restaurant entrance. Karrde crossed the space in a few strides and held out his arm for her to take. They entered the restaurant, looking like a respectable couple of businesspeople to the other patrons.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I didn't want to set up the Life/Soul Force Bond as Luke oops made the wrong kind of bond. This bond is supposed to be so special and rare in canon, I think it must be entered into by equal intent for both parties. Granted, Mara and Luke really have no idea what they've signed up for as of yet, which was also done on purpose. :D I gave the decision to Mara, because even I as author was getting worried about the reciprocity inequality that Luke's gift giving was building. Don't misunderstand, Luke's not trying to buy Mara's affection—he's just as generous to anyone he considers a friend—but there is an element of guilt there that's not warranted nor acknowledged by him. Guilt from knowing that Mara suffered for five years under the last command and feeling responsible for that.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Luke studied his sister as she wrapped up her work anecdote. Her eyes drooped a bit with fatigue, hardly surprising with two babies and Han at home. Thankfully, her attitude was bright and optimistic even if she was exasperated by other members of the Inner Council. He was glad that the revelations about their mother hadn't upset her. He chuckled at the end of her story.

She leaned back with a fond smile. "No more talk about my work, what's new with you?"

"Nothing, really," he answered with a shrug. "The mediation wrapped up yesterday, so I'm back to sifting through the Archives."

"And Mara moved out." The smirk on her lips was nearly identical to Han's.

He wasn't going to tell either of them about the bond experiment because that would lead to telling them about the almost kiss. And then that would lead to on target conjectures from both of them about how Luke wished that embrace had concluded differently, because Han was just as fast as Leia at sussing out how Luke really felt. "Yes, she did. And I passed her your invitation, but she had to leave Coruscant this morning on an oversight run, so give her a chance to get back before extending it again."

"An oversight run already? On the first shipment?"

Luke shook his head. "Not the first, they started last week. And I'm not sure who called for the oversight. It could've been the suppliers, the recipients, or the smugglers." He shifted his voice slightly, mimicking a Corellian accent. "Jade, please get over here, all these legits are leveling blasters at us and won't let us pick up the cargo or drop off the cargo."

Leia's smirk grew into a real smile. "I see, so you're blaming the smugglers."

"It's a shipment not involving Mon Calamari, so it's probably not the smugglers. She expects to be back to training by next week."

"I don't want to push her into anything, but it'd be nice to have someone else to invite over for dinner that doesn't lead to Han whining that I invited over another politician. I don't whine when he invites a smuggler over for drinks."

"But he doesn't. He usually meets them in cantinas or tapcafes. Lando's the only one he trusts in the same place with Jacen and Jania."

She picked up a piece of flatbread from the basket in the center of the table and pointed it at him. "Don't go ruining my hypothetical with facts." He threw up his hands in grinning surrender, lowering them only when she started eating the bread. He was glad that Mara had made Leia's cut for friend of the family. Mara needed more friends. Leia swallowed and asked, "Are you finding anything useful in the Archives?"

He sighed as he looked over the tapcafe they sat in. It specialized in Alderaanian food, so Leia was a regular customer, but it wasn't as busy as he expected a tapcafe located on the Grand Concourse would be. "The search programs Ghent designed for me are pulling up less and less data. I'll have to expand the search off-planet soon." He spied the serving droid approaching their table. "Food's here."

"Good, I'm starving." Before the plates were deposited on the table, Leia's attention riveted on the bowl of Alderaan stew. "This, this, I have to have this right now." Her expression went intense as she lifted the bowl off the plate and set it down in front of her.

The droid looked at Luke and then turned to Leia. "That's my order," he said. "You didn't want kebroot and ruica."

"And now I have to have it." She gripped her spoon with a tightness she usually reserved for blasters and her lightsaber.

The droid set down the plate with more flatbread next to the bowl. "Sir, shall I tell the kitchen to recreate your order?"

He shook his head. "Just give me hers." The droid set down the plate of gorak cooked with malla petals and starblossom. "You're lucky I like gorak."

"We haven't found anything edible by humans that you out right hate, Luke. Just edibles you like more."

He couldn't deny that; he hadn't been raised to be picky about food. He cut into the roasted meat and his comlink chimed. "Do you mind?" She shook her head as she dunked flatbread into the stew. "Skywalker."

"Skywalker, this is Davik Oligard."

Luke's eyebrow rose. Leia's inner self flinched as it always did before she could control her instincts about all things touched by their father. Oligard managed the Vader inheritance and they weren't due to have a meeting about it until next month. Unless Oligard found a new reason to complain about the rent Luke charged Mara. "Is something wrong, Master Oligard?"

"Possibly. An official from Gromas 16 contacted me. He reported that it looks like someone is moving into Vader's fortress there and he wanted to confirm a change in ownership. There hasn't been a change in ownership, but if you had authorized the use?"

"I haven't. I would have told you if I had. I'll check into it and let you know what I find." He needed something to do beside searching for scraps of information Palpatine hadn't bothered to erase from the Archives. And the apartment had turned out to be painful in a good way. He doubted he could expect the same from something labeled a fortress.

Leia frowned as Luke signed off the comm. "I don't like the sound of that."

"You think I do?"

"I think you should take back-up. Han's not busy right now—"

"I still remember how to scout, Leia. And that's all that's necessary on Gromas 16. Besides, Han said he wasn't leaving you and the twins for anything less than a Grand Admiral until their birthday. That's just a few more months with him underfoot."

She frowned at his grin. "I'm serious. There's been some strange rumors coming out of the Borderland Regions. The military is waiting for a full report from the fleet at Elom before dragging them before the Inner Council."

"I'm serious too. I promise, all I will do is scout out the situation. It's not the first time I've done a solo mission."

"Those usually end up with you neck deep in trouble."

He gave her a military salute. "Scouting only, Minister. I will comm for back-up if the situation warrants it." She sighed at that answer, not even trying to shield her annoyance. "What is it really?" he asked.

"Selfishness. I invited you out to see if you were free to babysit Jaina and Jacen so Han and I could have a night out alone."

"You two have an anniversary already?" He searched his internal calendar but no significant dates alerted.

She shook her head again. "No, just some alone time, probably in one of those cantinas or tapcafes if I let Han chose. No political agendas, forget about family responsibilities for a few hours."

"I can do that for you when I get back; you just have to ask. You don't have to bribe me with lunch and then steal it."

"Even trade." She stirred the contents of the bowl. "What if Vader installed traps in the place?"

"Then I'll have to save the idiots who can't read no trespassing signs." He chewed on his first bite of gorak.

* * *

Gromas 16 was the only inhabited moon of the gas giant Gromas, which reminded Luke of Yavin 4 when he landed in the primitive spaceport a couple of days after Oligard's comm. The Gromas Mines Cooperative didn't care about his X-Wing, so he secured Artoo upright in the passenger compartment of the rented landspeeder for the ride fifty kilometers from the spaceport town that was still growing around the old Imperial base. Gromas 16's position in space and sky reminded him of Yavin 4, but the ground reminded him of Tatooine. Sand and wind-carved rocks as far as the horizon reached, only the predominating color was red rather than the yellow ocher of his childhood.

"If a prospector wants this fortress, and it's not dangerous, I'm inclined to sell it," he said as the wind tugged on his hair. Artoo beeped. "I'll let Oligard handle the sale though. He's still miffed I didn't charge Mara more rent."

The droid snorted electronically.

Luke ignored Artoo's pique in favor of touching the bond with Mara. She was asleep and satisfaction still suffused her essence. Everything must have gone well on Balamak. Good, he wanted the Smuggler's Alliance to succeed after all her hard work. He eased away before he woke her, flexed his hands on the landspeeder controls, and remembered how her giddy excitement of flying her borrowed ship had roused him when she left Coruscant. She hadn't let on how much she liked to pilot. Was the Imperial Arena still renting swoops by the hour for the public to drive when there wasn't a race? He'd like to go flying with Mara in a craft he knew and without Myrkr's forest to crash into.

The unofficial road through the sand crested a hill and then eased into a rocky box canyon that provided a straight passage to an unmistakable fortress. It was carved out of red bedrock, the wall surrounding the front door had been smoothed flat ages ago. The structure was as wide as the-four-hundred-meter-wide canyon and tapered to a spire as it rose above the canyon walls. He had seen the structure grow on the horizon, but thought it was a short tower.

Artoo whistled a question, probably over how the landspeeder had coasted to a stop atop the hill.

"Just taking in the view." He eased down into the canyon along the established switchback. He didn't sense any threats from the towering walls. Gromas 16 didn't have any Tusken Raiders but scanning for them was an ingrained instinct. His low level dread didn't dissipate into nothing or build into full alarm. "Artoo, run a continuous sensor scan for life forms."

The droid beeped affirmatively as his sensor dish extended from his dome top. Luke continued driving forward. The strata of the walls banded in different shades of red, but they were solid to the top. And flat, no jutting rocks to hide behind for sniper cover. If he was being watched, if this crawling feeling in the Force meant he was being watched, it wasn't coming from above. Assured of that and that none of the walls were about to give way in a landslide, he focused on the fortress. Nothing was parked at the end of the canyon. The main door, about fifty meters tall and forty meters across, was centered in the end wall and closed. The windows were slits in the wall comparatively but the front was covered in them, too many observation points.

The landspeeder had crossed three-fourths of the distance, close enough to extend his Force senses into the building. The wave of terror that slammed into him made him jerk on the controls. Artoo trilled at him as he straightened the landspeeder and slowed their speed. "Sorry, someone's in trouble in there. Are you getting anything?"

Artoo rotated the sensor dish forward and whistled one in Binary.

"Just one life form?"

Artoo confirmed that. Luke took a deep breath. The only time he felt emotion that strongly was from Leia or Mara. "Whoever is in there is terrified. Maybe Leia was right about the traps." Artoo warbled. "We're going in. Carefully," he added when the droid started a low tone moan. "We can't leave whoever it is in there."

The landspeeder kicked up the lightest of the dust that had built up on the steps that had been carved up to the door. It didn't displace much of the ground that was now even with the threshold. He clipped a glow rod to his belt before moving to the other side of the landspeeder to get Artoo. The droid slowly counted to five in Binary. "There's five life forms now?" Luke asked as he set Artoo down on the top step.

Artoo's blat was his most emphatic negative.

"Five droids," Luke corrected as he looked for the door controls. Artoo's worried moan was affirmative. "I'm sure we can handle five droids," Luke assured him. The controls accepted his code and the metal doors parted down the middle. The shadows of the hallway were pushed back by the sunbeam coming from one of the window slits above the door. Luke left the glow rod clipped to his belt as he entered first and extended his senses into the space beyond this hallway.

A sob reverberated in his ears, but other than ahead and young he couldn't triangulate where the crying one was. He let his eyes adjust to the gloom before moving forward. Artoo rolled after him. The stone floor didn't impede the droid's treads. The door slid shut behind them.

Luke paused again at the end of the hall. The room beyond expanded to the furthest edges of the building's width and up for three or four stories. More window slits let in light so he didn't need the glow rod. The space was unfurnished except for two metal balls about as tall as him on the right side. Another metal ball was on the left, but the fourth ball was a cage instead of solid. Directly ahead, a spindly bipedal droid stood at the base of the staircase heading higher into the structure. It held a child against its torso with one arm, and both had their backs to Luke.

The child sobbed again and he had to swallow against his empathic pain. He cleared the corners of the hallway with quick glances before moving forward. "What are you doing here?"

The droid ignored him, but the child kicked its feet and struggled against the metal arm. The sob tore out again when the struggles had no effect. The terror slammed into him again.

Luke moved forward. "Let the child go. You're scaring her." Yes, it was a little girl. "And you're trespassing."

Behind him, metal stepped onto stone right before metal clicked against metal and Artoo squealed in alarm. He whirled around. Another spindly bipedal droid straightened behind Artoo. It had stepped out of niche carved into the wall behind them and had put a restraint collar around Artoo's barrel-shaped body. Artoo's surprised squeal changed to an angry chattering as his treads didn't get traction against the floor. The droid with the long head reached, pulled a blaster rifle from its back, and aimed it at Luke. His green lightsaber ignited and sent the blaster bolts to the walls to the left and right. They couldn't get past him to hit the little girl.

"Jedi has arrived. Roger, roger." The droid behind Artoo moved around the immobilized astromech while it continued to fire. Luke stepped to the side to keep himself between the little girl and the blaster rifle.

The large metal balls rolled closer and opened as they rolled. Tripod legs hit the stone floor with pointed feet. The curved body unfurled to aim two twin blaster cannons arms and those fired as soon as the droid was fully upright on its legs.

Luke recognized these droids; droideka is what the Separatists had named them in the Clone Wars. He deflected the blaster fire toward them. The bolt was absorbed by a blue deflector shield. Artoo screamed Binary that Luke usually only heard from him when they were in combat in the X-Wing. It matched the screaming from the little girl whose terror slammed into him again. He tried to remember if any of his history lessons had provided a practical lesson on how to defeat the droideka. Nothing was coming to mind, so he continued batting the blaster bolts away and the three droideka crept closer with each volley.

He angled to move closer to the child. That was the only battle plan he could come up with right now: get the little girl, cut Artoo free, and fall back to the X-Wing. The deflector shields on the droideka couldn't withstand turbolaser cannon fire, if they followed them all the way back to town. A blast got past his lightsaber and whizzed past his ear to hit the wall behind him.

The droideka to the left shifted in front of the battle droid holding the girl. The battle droid turned behind the droideka so he caught his first glimpse of the crying girl. Her skin color and hair reminded him of Lando, though nothing else in her round face did. Her brown eyes widened as she saw him and hope broke through her terror. He smiled to reassure her and batted away the volley.

He focused on trying to get around the droideka to get to the girl. She resumed kicking and banging her fists down on the metal arm around her torso. "Daddy!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, over the firing blaster cannons. Luke let his focus shift to see if someone else had entered the fortress. No one had. "Daddy!" she screamed again on the edge of sobbing. His attention jerked back to her. She strained against the metal arm, reaching for him past the droids in between them.

One of the droideka on the right curled up into a ball again. It rolled faster than Luke could move even with Jedi-enhanced reflexes and slammed into him with all of its mass. He flew back and didn't keep a hold of his lightsaber when he slammed into the edge of a metal platform. His breath shoved out of his lungs. Before he fully inflated them again, flat metal fingers wrapped around his legs and flipped him onto the metal platform. The open bars slammed shut before he looked up.

"DADDY!" she screamed. And her reddened eyes were focused on him inside the ball-shaped cage. Why in the galaxy was she calling him 'daddy'? Artoo matched her scream in Binary. Luke reached out to call his lightsaber to his hand. The bipedal battle droid in front of the cage pressed a button on the remote in its hand. The stun field slammed into him like a jolt of electricity. He cried out as his senses went black.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Alderaanian food: Alderaan had colonies in the Alderaan system and outside of it. According to WEG, Isis was a colony planet that Bail Organa kept the Empire from learning about so the Rebel Alliance could use it. I figure the colonists would have brought food plants and animals with them, so they were spared from extinction when Alderaan was destroyed.

Davik Oligard borrowed from "The Old Man's Gift or; How Luke Got Stinking Rich" by Aviatorman (mooseman13579), mooseman13579 on AO3.

And Wookieepedia tells me there is no Vader fortress on Gromas 16, but I didn't want to use Vader's favorite citadels away from Coruscant, like Bast Castle on Vjun. Or Mustafar, thanks for another stab of Vader pain _Rogue One._

Sorry for the delay in publishing. I tried multiple times to upload on Saturday, but kept getting errors.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Mara's snug bunk held them both without reality-based discomfort, but the second occupant found its size a fascinating topic for discussion. Luke Skywalker propped himself above her. "You wouldn't lose that much floor space," he assured her with good-humored intent. "Han didn't when he installed a double bunk for him and Leia on the _Falcon_."

She ran her fingers along the faint scars on his face and he leaned into her touch. His blue eyes darkened, but they remained open. "I can't believe you're talking about ship mods right now," she said.

His smile was so broad and warm. "I can help fix the ship. I'm not good with words in situations like this."

Her hand slid into his thick hair. "What about a demonstration?"

His muscular arm slid under her back and pulled her closer, flattening her breasts against the planes of his chest. Her hand carded out of his hair to run down his neck and gripped his shoulder. She wrapped her legs around his hips, and their lips finally, finally pressed together—

An electric jolt sent Mara out of the bunk for the deck plate under it. Luckily, she had picked the bottom one closest to the cockpit, so she didn't have far to land. One blink, then she was back on her feet and tearing into the bunk's bedding, looking for the loose wiring that must have shocked her. The autochef didn't work, the deck hiding a smuggling compartment did not fit back into place properly and tripped her, and now faulty wiring! The dream had just gotten to the good part! She had no idea who Karrde had assigned to maintain this ship but when she caught up with them, they would be rebuilding it under her supervision.

She didn't find any loose wires. And now that she stopped to consider that, she recognized her danger sense flaring. She charged into the cockpit. Nothing was signaling for attention. The sensors showed that nothing was happening in the docking bay outside. No messages waiting for her. No planetary alerts either. What was the Force trying to tell her? With the danger sense, she clarified for herself. That hadn't been her first sex dream starring Luke since she left Coruscant and if the Force was trying to send her a message with them, she had no idea what it could be.

Luke would suggest meditation. She leaned back in the pilot's seat with a smirk playing at her lips. She closed her eyes and brushed against the bond with him. Her danger sense flared stronger. He was in danger. _Skywalker?_ He was out cold and the stun field that had hit him raced across the bond to her own nerve endings. Getting hit with one did feel like getting shocked if it was at a high enough setting.

She jerked out of the pilot's seat to copilot/gunnery/comm station that took up the rear of the cockpit. As the signal reached out, she realized she hadn't checked what the local time for Coruscant was. Too late if she woke everyone up, the comm was already accepted. She ran a hand through her wavy red hair so it wouldn't look so disheveled.

Leia Organa Solo's head and shoulders appeared in the blue holovid. Her long hair was still coiffed for the office. "Mara." She smiled. "Luke said you were off planet."

"Still am, though I was planning on leaving after local dawn. Your brother's hurt."

The other woman's gaze went unfocused, probably checking Mara's assertion with the bond the Skywalker twins had. It didn't last long before Leia focused on Mara's blue image on her end. "He is. How did you know, Mara?"

Mara hadn't expected that question just a quick 'thank you' before Leia signed off to go check on Luke. It startled the truth out of her. "We're experimenting with a Force bond. I felt it when he got zapped." Leia's head tilted as she considered Mara. "So I thought you'd get your yelling in first before I get back to Coruscant. Where did he find a stun field to knock himself out with? Or is that a setting on those remotes we haven't tried yet?"

"Luke's not on Coruscant." Leia's dark eyes pinched. "Damn, I told him he should take back-up. He must have found a stun field in Vader's fortress."

Mara felt her stomach hollow out. She had never been invited to one of Vader's fortresses, but rumors had abounded in the Imperial Court. "Where?"

"Gromas 16," Leia said. Mara turned to the nav computer and pulled up the charts. "One of Vader's fortresses is there and he got a report of trespassers. He only took Artoo to scout it. He always finds trouble on a scouting mission, always. He probably triggered some trap Vader left in it. And I'll have to send Han after him, so he should've just saved us the trouble and took Han to begin with."

"Why did Vader build a fortress on Gromas 16?" Leia shrugged and shook her head. "I'm only about four sectors away." Mara double-checked the math. "If I leave now, I can be there tomorrow. That's quicker than Han from Coruscant even with the _Falcon_."

"You'll go get Luke?" Leia's smile was relieved and hopeful. "You are closer, but you're not obligated, Mara. Though if you do it, you'll get to yell at him for being an idiot first. Maybe he'll actually listen if it's not me or Han yelling at him."

Her danger sense had ebbed just slightly. The situation on Gromas 16 was probably more complicated than the possibilities she or Leia could think of from here, and the only solution was for someone to go. "I'll go. I'll comm you with what I find tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll have Skywalker giving his own account."

"Thank you, Mara. Transmitting the coordinates and the entry code to the fortress to you now. May the Force be with you."

"And with you." Mara received the information and contacted Balamak's spaceport for a departure time. Luckily, no one else wanted to leave planet in the middle of local night, so she was in hyperspace within an hour.

She slept while in hyperspace and no sex dreams interrupted, though she had to start off with meditation to get her danger sense to shut up long enough to fall asleep. It remained low key while she changed into a jumpsuit, braided her hair, went through the crew lounge to the galley, and tripped on the stupid deck plate again. She growled as she tore a bite out of the ration bar and hopped over the decking seam to go to the cockpit. Coming out of hyperspace was as smooth as shimmersilk; at least the maintenance issues hadn't affected the engines any. No central space docking facility hailed her, so she focused her sensors on Leia's coordinates. The location was fifty kilometers away from the local town. No sense bothering the locals if she didn't need to. She flew straight to the coordinates.

The fortress was carved into the end of a wide box canyon with only a spire rising above the bedrock like a tower. Did Vader have it built or did he just take over an ancient stronghold? Mara leaned toward the take-over option; it just looked too old to have been built within her lifetime. Nothing was parked near it, but luckily the canyon was wide enough for the _Jade's Escape_ to set down right in front of the main door.

She kept the heavy blaster pistol in her hand and her lightsaber on her belt as she keyed open the door. The massive metal doors split open along the center and pulled into the stone walls. She eased into a sunlit hallway, extending her senses for any signs of adversaries. The shrill whistles and beeps of Binary nearly shattered her eardrums.

She cleared the corners at the end of the hall. Sunlight streamed into the shadowed space through the outer windows. Artoo was attached to the wall with a restraining collar. Nothing else was in the cavernous room, so she cautiously stepped out into the open. The astromech stopped the shrill whistles. Its dome rotated until its photoreceptor saw her and it moaned.

"That's a fine way to greet the rescue party," she said softly. Her feet crunched on gravel as she approached the droid. "Are we alone?"

Artoo's affirmative beep was forlorn. She unfastened the restraint collar and the droid scooted out of reach as soon as his traction returned. She dropped the collar with a sigh and gazed around the main room once more. Holes from blaster bolts pockmarked the stone walls, which had rained down gravel onto the floor. A gleam of metal to her left caught her eye; the only metal except for Artoo and the restraining collar in this space. She strode to it and her danger sense thrummed in time with her sinking heart when she recognized it. Luke's lightsaber, the only weapon he carried, was warm in her grip. He wasn't defenseless—she of all people in the galaxy knew that—but she'd feel so much better right now if he kept a hold-out blaster up his sleeve too. Artoo rolled closer to her and she turned to him. "What happened?" She asked before considering just how weak her Binary comprehension was. Before she could offer a datapad or something for him to interface with, his holographic projector aimed toward the floor and flashed.

She watched the silent holovid of the battle with growing dismay. The blue-tinged Luke deflected blaster bolts from a Clone Wars era battle droid before the metal balls uncurled into lethal killing machines. "Droideka?" Luke angled a blaster bolt at one of the two on the right and a deflector shield absorbed it. He shifted his stance further from Artoo. "Why in the Corellian hells is he advancing against three droideka?"

Artoo moaned his own commentary. The angle of the fight shifted and another battle droid appeared in the recording holding a struggling human child instead of a blaster. "A hostage, of course Luke would try a rescue." His focus shifted minutely off the attack; whatever had caught his attention wasn't captured by Artoo's holorecorder. But the droideka took advantage of the lapse. One of the droideka to Luke's right rolled into a ball and then slammed into the Jedi knocking the human into the air. Artoo kept the holorecorder focused on Luke as he slammed down mostly on the metal platform of a round cage and lost his grip on his lightsaber. Mara gasped in sympathy. Before Luke could recover, the battle droid without the child flipped him fully into the cage and slid the bars shut. Luke raised himself up on his arms before a white glow expanded from the cage. His black-clad form dropped to the cage floor. "The stun field," Mara said weakly. "A trap, a perfect trap for Luke. Did you get who set this up?"

Artoo chattered at her and it was too sarcastic to be complimentary. That holovid ended and another began. A male human with light colored hair addressed the droideka and battle droids. His back was to the holorecorder but Artoo had turned on the sound recording for this one. "Droideka return to the ship. Take her to the ship and secure her."

"Roger, roger." The battle droid answered and they moved en masse toward Artoo and the hallway beside him. She saw the little girl clearly now, her miserable features and defeated slump of her body. Luke was still unmoving in the cage at the very edge of Artoo's recording.

The man turned and strode toward Artoo and bile threatened to rise in Mara's throat. A white beard covered the bony jaw she remembered, but the curly hair was the same even if it was more gray than brown now. His long nose and high cheekbones were the same but more wrinkles filled the pale skin covering them. "Anor," she spat out and she was surprised at how furious his ghostly presence made her.

Anor stopped in front of Artoo. "You will record a message and deliver it to the one calling herself Mara Jade, or your master will suffer for your insolence." The holovid played the droid's subdued affirmative beep. Anor straightened his shoulders and looked straight ahead. "You have forgotten your place, kriff-toy. This dalliance of independence ends now. You will come to Columex and resume your submission to me, or I will keep your lover to enjoy instead."

"My what?" Mara blurted.

The droid helpfully replayed the beginning of Anor's speech. Hearing the repeat of the word lover didn't diminish her bewilderment. But Anor took a remote from his belt pouch and moved the cage holding Luke—it must have a repulsorlift on it—next to him so Artoo clearly caught Luke's inert form. "You have a week to arrive," Anor said. He stared down his long nose at Luke. "After that your lover is fair game. I don't understand the appeal you have for the Rebel scum, kriff-toy, but I must admit he would look attractive bent over in the stocks." He leered at the captive. "But I'd rather have you in bondage where you belong." He made the stop recording gesture, though Artoo rebelliously kept Anor and the cage in view until they disappeared down the hall. Now it stopped the playback.

Her hand tightened on the grip of Luke's lightsaber as she tried to bring order to her jumble of thoughts. Columex, Anor was the funtihruo who had hired a vandal to destroy her quarters in the Imperial Palace. Luke lay unmoving on the floor of that cage. Anor had filled her with renewed doubt about who she had allied with this time. The dark-skinned face looking at the floor with quivering lips, an unfamiliar face but she deserved comfort she would not receive from Anor. The bashard called Mara's life a dalliance. He had set his collected droids on Luke. The man had always been an idiot, but provoking her with all this was worse. Basing this trap around Luke was damn near suicidal. Even with a cage that had a built-in stun field, there was no way Anor could keep Luke Skywalker locked up for a week or longer. They had only kept him several days on Myrkr thanks to the lack of the Force and sedatives. And he still had managed to escape one day after he woke up.

But then with a lurch of her guts, she remembered Wayland. " _Let them go and I'll stay."_ The little girl, Anor's taste started after puberty but Luke didn't know that and he would submit to Anor's whims to protect a child. And Anor would get more aroused over mind-kriffing Luke along with raping him.

"Shavit," she muttered. "Palpatine should have let me kill Anor when I asked." Artoo twittered at her. "The Emperor told me no because Anor was still useful to him. Now I wish I hadn't asked and just dealt with the consequences after he was dead." She shook her head. "Okay, time to go to Columex and give Anor the largest disappointment of his life and get Skywalker out of that cage. Or give him a ride back to Coruscant if he managed to get out already."

Artoo whooped and scooted in front of her. It stopped and she paused to not bang right into its barrel-shaped chassis. The droid continued to berate her.

"What now? Look they have a day's head start on us and I still need to comm Organa Solo and Karrde about the travel and rescue plans. We don't have time for your trust issues."

The maintenance grasper arm extended from its dome compartment and reached towards Luke's lightsaber while the droid continued its beeping tirade.

"Really? I have my own; I'm not stealing it. Pop open that compartment you used on Myrkr." One of the blue panels above its photoreceptor slid open and she dropped the lightsaber into it. It closed, concealing the lightsaber from view and probably weapon scanners. "Speaking of your trust issues." Artoo made a sound like a human unvoiced linguolabial trill as it retracted its grasper arm. Mara ignored that. "I'm going after Skywalker, because Anor is my problem. You can stay here, but the Minister sent me after her brother, so nobody else is headed here. You can roll back to wherever Skywalker docked his X-Wing and fly it back to Coruscant, if Anor left it behind. Or you can come with me and be of some use rescuing Skywalker." She stepped around him. "Your choice, but don't take too long to decide."

Artoo caught up with her before she reached the middle of the foyer hallway to the main door.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Anor scowled at the list of prices. He was not paying that much for a nanny droid he only needed for a month. What other models could care for a child at a fraction of the credits? Or what other models could be reprogrammed to care for one? He set up the local HoloNet searches and leaned back in his console seat.

His security alarm chimed. He turned on the feed covering the rooms of his house. The Rebel Jedi had woken up and was moving inside the universal energy cage. Anor's hand drifted to the remote on his belt, but he paused. The infant brat was safe enough back in the sed-box for now. He deserved some entertainment with his rival.

He heard the hum of the universal energy cage change in pitch, growing stronger, before he opened the playroom door. It was the largest room in Anor's modest estate home designed around the spherical cage that had the place of honor right behind his holovid projector and closest to the disguised cargo door in the outer wall.

Luke Skywalker sat cross-legged in the center of the cage. Recognition flickered across his face when he stared at Anor, but his forehead soon furrowed in confusion.

Anor studied the young man while waiting for him to speak. He had owned and kriffed prettier, not that Luke Skywalker had aged badly in the ten years since he destroyed the Death Star. His hair had darkened to a sandy brown. The hands resting on his black-clad thighs were wide and callused. Anor's eyes drifted from those hands to the groin. Was that heavy endowment what his kriff-toy wanted from this Rebel? Anor had thought about stocks when he composed his message to his kriff-toy, but Skywalker would look good with his legs stretched apart on the new pivot table. It would be a challenge to get him on it in a week.

Skywalker's brow furrowed deeper. "I know you," he said slowly. "But we've never met before."

"Your vaunted Jedi tricks no doubt. You might as well stop using them, boy. The universal energy cage was designed to thwart them and I started with the power level to stop Vader. Unless you'd rather I hit you with the stun field again."

Bright blue eyes blinked as Skywalker exhaled. "No, I'd rather you didn't." His gaze swept around the playroom, not lingering long on the pivot table, the spanking bench, the stockade, the implements hanging on the walls, or the chains and bars hanging from the ceiling. He frowned, but wiped it from his face when his blue eyes focused on Anor. "Where is the little girl you had the droids holding? Did you leave her behind on Gromas 16?" His hands curled into fists.

Anor turned his conform-seat for watching holovids to face the cage before sitting down. That reaction could be useful. "She's safely secured elsewhere." Skywalker glanced at the spanking bench before returning his gaze to Anor. Anor crowed internally at his expression of disgust and pain. "She's not in my bed. Not yet." Skywalker's whole body stiffened. Oh yes, he could keep the Jedi under control with this.

Skywalker breathed deeply before wiping the disgust from his expression and stretching open his hands. It didn't increase the hum of the cage, so Anor didn't protest the Jedi's fight for internal control. His blue eyes opened again. "You're not a Force user, and you don't appear to be a bounty hunter."

"The cage was a gift from the Emperor, a consolation prize when I gave up what I would have rather kept. He had a few in the Palace. The Court all thought he'd eventually have to stuff Vader in one before his execution." Anor leaned back further in his chair. Which way the conversation went would give him a sense of the man he was dealing with behind all the Rebellion propaganda and Jedi myths.

"Palpatine knew about your collection of restraints." Skywalker's eyes flicked towards the stockade set near the door to the front of the house. "Or at least whoever he put in charge of gift buying for him did."

Anor bared his teeth in a grin. "The whole Court appreciated what I do with restraints. The parties I hosted to display the delirium of the struggle, the ecstasy of discipline were the best attended on all of Coruscant. I gave so many what they wanted, only to lose what I wanted." He sighed before returning to the business at hand. "If everything goes according to plan and you're a good boy who doesn't need stunning again, you'll get to see my art."

Skywalker's brown eyebrows rose. "If you had asked nicely, I would have come to an exhibition. I like art."

"Your involvement is only necessary to return my canvas to me." He let his voice grow cold. This Rebel scum had stolen his kriff-toy and wrecked the Empire. He shouldn't be distracted from that.

"I'm the bait." Oddly, Skywalker sounded amused and a broad grin broke across his face. Anor had a brief fancy of those pink lips wrapped around his cock that he quickly dismissed. Too dangerous to let Skywalker loose now. The Jedi continued without any hint that he had read Anor's thoughts. "I've always been the one everyone has been after, so my family and friends are targeted to get to me. It never works." He brought his hand up to hide the grin but dropped it. "And I feel obliged to warn you, if this," he waved his hand at the cage and himself, "is to coerce concessions from Leia, I'm the nice twin. Everyone thinks she's not a threat because she's so diplomatic and Princess of Alderaan, the planet of pacifists. But she's a krayt dragon, especially if you go after her family or her people." His grin dropped to a smile, but those blue eyes radiated seriousness. "You don't want that, trust me."

"Trust a Jedi? Don't bother using any mind magic on me. You aren't going anywhere until your lover arrives." The hum of the universal energy cage was supposed to protect the jailers from Force influence, but Anor was in no hurry to test it.

"My what?" Skywalker frowned at him.

"Don't play stupid now." Anor snapped as he leaned closer. "You took my kriff-toy without permission and even less compensation. Or did you think every prize of the Empire was free for the taking?" Skywalker's frown deepened. Anor's hands curled into fists. "She is mine and no one will keep her from me now, least of all a Rebel scum following a dead religion, filling her head with lies that the Empire is dead and gone."

Skywalker's face hardened like no laughter could find a home there. "You sound like a Hutt."

Anor's whole body went rigid. "You dare compare me to a slug!"

"Sorry." His tone didn't hold any amends. "But you're the first human slaver I've met."

"Slaver?" Anor sneered. "Your Rebel propaganda to deny a simple truth of the universe: some sentient beings need to be dominated."

Skywalker's stoic expression did not change, but Anor felt judged by the weight of that stare. "If the New Republic offered sanctuary to someone you were torturing—"

"Torture! She wanted what I gave her." His kriff-toy had always enjoyed his ministrations, Anor reminded himself as his body ran hot from the Jedi's accusation. She had always complied without the pretense of reluctance. The damn Jedi were celibate; what did this boy know of sex and pleasure for all he partook in it? "I was the only one in the Court who could give her what she needed." His jaw clenched while Skywalker continued to stare at him. "My kriff-toy enjoyed every second of our time together."

"Of course, she must have." Skywalker's voice turned caustic. "That's why she's been in such a hurry to return to you after the Empire lost Coruscant. Three years heading back to you. Or would you rather count from Palpatine's death? That makes six. Maybe she's using sublight engines." Skywalker didn't smirk with that, which was the only thing that stopped Anor from stunning him again.

"She's had years of the Emperor, Karrde, and you undoing all my training. She will come and she will remember how yielding was gratifying and I will never lose her again. Her dalliance with you will soon be seen in its proper perspective; just how unworthy you are of her talents." Anor sneered. "You buy her affections with lavish gifts and your vaunted powers and have no idea what she really desires. But I will take all her troubles away, once I latch a collar back around her throat."

Skywalker's arms folded over his chest and his gaze dropped to the floor. "Mara? It all happened to Mara?" He jerked his head up and squinted slightly at Anor. "This is a trap for Mara Jade?"

"You sound surprised. How many lovers have you moved into penthouses in Imperial City that you're getting them confused?"

"You kidnapped me," Skywalker carefully enunciated every word as if there was any chance Anor did not understand Basic, "to set a trap for Mara Jade?"

"And I'm continuously wondering what in Malachor does my kriff-toy see in you." Anor watched the dawning comprehension on Skywalker's face. "But she will come for you. Now that I have reminded her of her place."

"You've just dived head first into the Sarlacc." Skywalker winced in pity. "If she really wanted what you want, she's had years to find you again. She—"

Anor thrust himself out of the conform-seat. "I have proof of how much she enjoyed everything!" Anor inhaled sharply through his flared nostrils. "But you're too provincial to appreciate my holovids."

Skywalker dropped his arms and balled his fists against his thighs. "As a Jedi, I'm obligated to ask you not to take this plan of action. Don't force Mara to make a choice. Let me and the little girl go. For Mara's sake." He opened his blue eyes again.

"You foolish boy. Of course this is for my kriff-toy's sake. You can't protect her from the Emperor Reborn. And she'll have nowhere to go once your Rebel Alliance is ashes. She is mine to protect, to please, to punish. You are nothing to her."

Skywalker didn't say anything. After an unyielding minute of silence, the black-clad boy turned his cross-legged position until he faced the wall instead of Anor. He shook his hands loose before setting them back down on his thighs. Anor headed to the door. Hopefully, his kriff-toy would dally until the week passed and he could then beat the insolence out of the Rebel scum. The door slid shut and locked behind him.

* * *

Mara's anxiety brought her to the pilot's seat far too early to leave hyperspace. She huffed at the countdown timer, but Luke's astromech had settled in the space behind her seat in the cockpit and she was loath to force it to move out of her way. She leaned back and stared at the mottled star field. Bendak Anor had been out there plotting against her for how long? It certainly put a new light to her nightmares. Were they warnings from the Force or just bad memories from her life? That would be something to discuss with Luke, if he still wanted to talk to her ever again after what Anor would expose him to.

Her stomach felt hollow around the ration bar she had eaten earlier. It was stupid to feel this way. He knew about the Emperor, knew she had been an assassin, had watched her kill his mind-destroyed clone trying to kill him, and never held any of it against her. Would the obsessive Anor and what she let Anor do to her crush his goodwill? Or could it be lumped into the pile of what Palpatine had done? Technically, Palpatine had ordered her cooperation. She drummed the back of her head against the headrest. That's why she had cooperated and why she had never bothered going back to Anor despite the many invitations he had showered on her for his parties. There was no reason to go if the Emperor had not ordered her to be the decoration and the entertainment.

And Anor had never comprehended that, ever. Once her bewilderment eased over Anor's confusion about her and Luke's relationship, she couldn't decide if she was more impressed or more annoyed that Anor had dared taken on the Jedi out of jealousy. Shavit, Luke wouldn't think anything good in how Anor chased her in the Court without telling him about the sex training. Even if he hadn't been the target of a droideka attack.

There was a quiet series of beeps from Artoo behind her. She pulled out her datapad, which was now running a Binary translation program. "Luke meditates before battle. You do not?" was typed across the screen.

"He's always recommending it, another Jedi thing." She checked the hyperspace timer again. "We have time to try it."

"I will monitor the systems and alert you to any abnormalities." Artoo scooted closer to the pilot's seat. "No data port?"

"I don't have a droid copilot, sorry." She exhaled and let her shoulders drop, releasing her anxieties. The Force opened around her. The bond stretched between her and Luke but growing shorter, and Luke was a bright beacon at the end. If Anor hadn't been so considerate and gave her the planet he lived on now, she could have flown there following the pull toward him. She brushed against him, not expecting anything because the smart response would be to keep Luke sedated so he would remain a hostage. But his surprise answered her caress to check on his status. _Mara?_

Relief made her giddy. _It appears the long range connection works, Farmboy. Are you all right?_

 _You're closer now. I tried reaching you yesterday, but the cage._ A dull but throbbing headache reverberated between them. It resonated with Luke's strengthening dismay. _A trap for you, of course he told you to come._

 _He left a message with your droid. The astromech seems fine, but it has stopped trying to zap me._ The seriousness of the situation was over taking her giddiness. _Anor's too stupid to keep you sedated; has he been stupid enough to do anything to you?_ She reached out for him again, not attempting to hide her concern.

 _What qualifies?_ His repugnance mingled with his dismay. _I'm not the only hostage he has. He said he hadn't hurt her yet, but I haven't seen her and my head hurts when I try to sense for her._

 _The little girl from Artoo's recording?_ Luke's affirmation was only a little stronger than his concern and dread. There was no reason for him to worry about that. _She's safe from Anor's proclivities; she's not old enough. What has he done to you?_ Her sense of him didn't include any physical pain, and he didn't seem like he was hiding any from her.

 _I'm in a room full of torture devices that he used on you._

She almost received a visual of what he saw. The ghostly shadowed playroom beyond metal bars differed slightly from the one in her memories. She slammed her shield up between them and him before damage was done, before this was the thing that drove him away.

 _Mara, I know because you know. It's not something you have to hide._ The throbbing felt like it was trying to solidify between them. _Anor wants to torture you again._ Dismay shifted to dread, and tinged with anger. _He wants to own you. Believes beyond doubt that you want that too._

Mara didn't let herself react to his calling it torture; his point of view was valid and with his predicament more accurate than not. _Anor has been deluded about that belief for years._

 _Years?_ Alarm rippled through Luke. _Palpatine handed you over to him, and then let him remain in the Court?_ His anger was encircled with compassion, though why he was so focused on what would only cause him pain, she couldn't understand.

 _Anor was one of my trainers. Unfortunately, Palpatine never had any reason to doubt his loyalty._ They needed to concentrate on the problem of his rescue. _What shape is the rest of you in? Your droid recorded the fight with the droideka._

 _I healed from that. He said the droideka are back in storage and has me in a cage that's making it hard to reach the Force inside a torture room all for you._ Something was between them, pushing back on Luke's response. He pushed through it with sheer determination. _This is a trap for you. Do not come. Call Leia, she can send—_

 _Your sister sent me, and she hasn't changed the plans since the last update._ True, Mara would have felt better if that update had been a live holovid conversation instead of a message, but it wasn't like no one knew what the agenda to rescue Luke was. She didn't waste time by trying to explain the details. _It's pretty clear that Anor's been working on your sensibilities. He's not the threat he's making himself out to be._

Luke's protectiveness surged and wrapped around her. It was a hardened gentleness and warmth that she had never felt before. _He was ready for me. That little girl won't be safe from crossfire. Don't come after me alone. Get back up from Karrde. I'll pay whatever price he charges._

Mara didn't dwell on her frustration, but let Luke feel it. _Is that what the New Republic calls scouting? Give me something to work with._

 _I am!_ His protectiveness intensified. _Palpatine held him in check before; Anor has no restraints now. You won your freedom, Mara. I won't see this sleemo take that from you. Don't put yourself in his grasp, Mara, please. He was ready for me, and he'll be ready for you._

 _Farmboy, no one is ever ready for me._

The hardened warmth felt like his arms were around her. But the connection between their minds was fracturing under increased head throbbing. Luke wove together a mental shield. _Don't come after me,_ he sent before pulling it tight and the connection broke. The throbbing vanished. He was still alive at the other end of the bond, but she couldn't discover any other information.

She shoved out of the meditation with a groan that sounded more like a growl. "I thought you actually earned a rank, you moon jockey! That didn't tell me anything that I didn't already know."

Behind her seat, Artoo beeped interrogatively.

She didn't even bother looking at the translation on the datapad. "I managed to reach Skywalker. He's alive, finds Anor creepily disturbing, is willing to wait until I get reinforcements, and then shielded himself from further mind chats from me, the laser-brain."

Now the droid chided through his shrill whistles and beeps. Mara looked at the datapad. "You should not insult Luke. He has been nothing but kind to you, despite how you threatened him repeatedly."

"Okay, fine. You've been in combat. Is it a sound tactical decision to not communicate with the people coming to rescue you with the secret means that the captors cannot overhear?"

Artoo's beep was regretful. "The Force probably told him to do it. At least that's what Luke always tells me after he does something stupid."

"That's a convenient excuse." She stroked the edge of the control panel.

The droid whistled again. "Does this change the agenda once we land?"

"Not really. We still have to research Anor's current circumstances and the only useful tidbit was Luke's in a cage that's making it hard for him to use the Force. That doesn't change much from my initial idea that he'd be sedated and a non-factor."

"Myrkr." Artoo's beep was smug. "Luke brought down that Chariot and all the stormtroopers without the Force."

"The plan isn't finalized yet." Mara shoved it aside until they had more details, and then something struck her anew that she had noticed when she got the Binary translation program up and running. "You call Skywalker Luke. I thought all droids designated ownerships. Threepio does."

Artoo's trills and beeps were complicated. "After Owen Lars bought us from the Jawas, Luke requested that he be called 'just Luke.' He has never changed the designation and I abide by it. Threepio cannot name him without an ownership designation. We've tried changing it for years. I believe it is part of a protocol droid's circuitry."

Owned by his parents, witnessed his birth, separated from him, and only finding him again by sheer chance or design of the Force if you wanted to be metaphysical about it, no wonder the droid was so protective of Luke. The hyperspace timer went off. "Latch on, it's time to return to normal space."


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Columex was a bustling planet on the intersection of the Perlemian Trade Route and the Salin Corridor hyperspace routes. The starport control didn't bother asking for a reason for her visit, just rattled off the docking fees the _Jade's Escape_ would incur and warning that any deviation from the assigned flight plan would be met with hostile force to protect other ships after she confirmed her destination. Landing in Nardolin's spaceport presented no difficulties and no unwelcome surprises. She authorized the transfer of fees, recorded a message to Karrde—he must be in hyperspace—telling him if he didn't have a follow-up message from her within twenty-four hours she would need an extraction with firepower to repel droideka, checked that she had all the data Karrde had provided on the planet, and headed out of the docking bay with Artoo at her heels.

The spaceport included a public-access library for the convenience of travelers. Mara sat in a chair provided for the personal console and scooted away to make room for the astromech. "Skywalker's always bragging on your skills, so have at it. All the information you can find on Bendak Anor: besh, esk, nern, dorn, aurek, krill, aurek, nern, osk, resh. Current age," she paused to do the math, "late sixties, sixty-seven if I have his birth year right."

Artoo beeped as he extended his scomp link into the dataport of the terminal. Mara leaned back and opened up the information Karrde had complied on Columex on her datapad. She had read it before on her flight to Balamak, but without a reason for why the planet had been named in reference to her, the reading had ended up more exercise in Talon Karrde's information gathering and presentation of those facts. The man had a brief history of the planet, drilled down to more localized history and tidbits, and finally details that could aid a fringe operation on the planet. And then there were the strictly Karrde touches. The restaurants were ranked by food quality and privacy considerations. Not that she planned to remain on planet long enough to take Luke to the number one contender. Neither of them had the clothing required for it, and she should save her Isk Besh Cresh credits for the mission.

She opened up the map of Nardolin—City had been dropped from the capital's name when the planet's name changed to Columex—and began to familiarize herself with the city layout. The major thoroughfares and public transportation routes created circles around the city segmented by routes deeper into the city and further out. The spaceport took up an entire segment between two mass transit routes. Visitors to the planet were prohibited from renting landspeeders as a protection for local driving companies. She frowned, that snag could impact escape back to the ship.

The droid whistled quietly and opened a file on the console screen. She lifted her eyes from the datapad and glared at Anor's planetary identification record. "That's him. Where does he live? He's holding Luke there; the man will not leave his comforts if he can help it."

The image on the console screen changed to a landspeeder view of the address. A medium-sized, three-story stone house was set back from the tree and bush lined paved street. It was separated from the neighboring houses of similar size and the landscaped vegetation provided useful cover. Residential areas had always been the easiest for her to work in: disable the alarm system, neutralize the target, and rearm the alarm system once outside the residence again. She shifted in her seat as something collided like asteroids in her stomach. Luke wouldn't want her to kill to rescue him. In Mara's experience, it was never a good idea to leave a living enemy behind, and she had been right about C'baoth. But Luke had still tried his damnedest to save the crazy clone.

Would she feel safe in a galaxy where she let Anor go free, even if she terrorized him against coming after her ever again? She honestly didn't know. She never would have suspected him of having enough nerve to attack a Jedi. Get Luke free and then worry about what to do with Anor.

The surveillance image shifted a view of the city map. The house was near the center of the city, but on the north side. A line of the mass transit system ran from spaceport through that neighborhood with a station across from the house. That was convenient for arrival and exit as long as both of them came out of the house presentable to the public. The street front beyond the station was compacted with businesses and apartment buildings, more witnesses. She didn't want to leave Luke a prisoner any longer than necessary, but further surveillance may be necessary.

Artoo switched the map view to a text document. She leaned in to read what it had highlighted in the planetary legal code. "That is a harsh local penalty for slavery; what of it?"

"We can contact the local authorities and let them process the extraction," the datapad helpfully displayed from the droid's low-toned chirps.

Mara shook her head and glanced around the public-access library. They were still the only customers and the attendant droid at the door was ignoring them. She still dropped her voice. "No, we really cannot do that. His sister wants this handled quietly. Otherwise, she would have mustered the flyboys Luke still doesn't drink around to come get him."

"Princess Leia made no such request and Columex is an independent planet."

"Do you have any idea how close we are to the Pentastar Alignment? Of course you do, you're an astromech." She rubbed her nose briefly. "They are independent now, but they were staunch Imperialists not too long ago. And the Pentastar Alignment is much closer than the New Republic. Columex will turn him over quick to maintain their independence. It's up to us to get Luke so his sister doesn't have a mess to explain to the rest her coworkers."

"You gave Karrde the contingency plan of extraction." Artoo beeped accusatory.

"Karrde knows how to be discreet. The local authorities won't be. Pull up everything you can about Anor's house."

Artoo put the street view of the house back on the terminal without a whistle, and Mara studied the details. Lots of windows, but no clear sight-lines into those windows. She didn't have to know the floor plan going in, but it always made the mission easier. The droid replaced the image with details from a real estate listing. "The house central computer was manufactured by TaggeCo. I am well adept in slicing into that mainframe."

"Even if Anor's upgraded it?" She frowned, having not considering bringing the droid along for this portion.

"I have kept my system skills upgraded on Coruscant."

She glanced at the miffed droid. "Don't fry your circuits. It doesn't do us any good if we managed to get you in there and you can't slice into the computer. Not that I have any idea how to get you in there."

"Luke gave us as gifts to Jabba."

"The only way you're worth as much as a droideka is if I tell Anor your complete designation and who owns you. And that won't leave you free to interface with the house computer." She mulled over Anor's habits that she remembered. "Does he still have his shopping shipped to him? See if any stores have weekly standing orders for that."

The scomp link twisted in the data port. A file with a commercial logo filled the terminal screen. "A weekly standing order, due to ship out today at 1500 local time."

That was plenty of time to reach the business and bribe them to leave behind some extra cargo in the shape of an astromech droid, but there was only one way to insure Anor ignored Artoo so the droid could sabotage the house. "So I'm the distraction. I'll keep Anor distracted and find out where Luke is and drop Anor once you've locked down the security features and the illumination." Artoo beeped in agreement. "One more thing, you space me over this, mistime until I'm locked down in restraints and you'll be the one who wrecked Luke's chance at getting out of this."

The blue dome swiveled until the photoreceptor tilted up at her face. The whistle and beeps were long and subdued. "I want Luke back, but if you betray him, I will slag you myself."

"Check your memory banks. I haven't betrayed him since I met him, now have I?" That silenced the droid and she nodded at the terminal. "I've got the address to the store. Scrub the search and let's go."

* * *

There was a lovely bench under the shade of a mature tree that gave Mara the perfect vantage point to watch Anor's house and the arrival of the delivery landspeeder. She braided her hair while she waited. Anor had always preferred her hair made into another leverage point. Let him see that, let it lull him into believing that she was cooperating. Once her fingers wrapped the hair tie around the end of the plait, she pulled out her datapad and composed an update to Karrde, giving Anor's local address and the bare outline of her plan, and sent it back to the _Jade's Escape_. She doubted he'd need to come rescue her and Skywalker, but he would demand an explanation for her message that Luke's kidnapping was her fault. Her follow up messages guaranteed to alight his curiosity once he heard them. Which if that had been her intention, she'd have a plan for paying it off. But she hadn't planned further ahead than tossing Luke onto the _Escape_ so no one could take him away again.

So honesty with both Karrde and Skywalker with as few details as she could get away with? Maybe she should have both of them in the same room when she explained; they would concentrate on who could be more courteous about her past. Despite the two men's differences, they both had the same reactions when it came to the training regimen the Emperor had raised her in. She enjoyed working for Karrde more than the other jobs that had kept her alive running from Isard. More enjoyable that meting out justice for Palpatine, if that was truly where her targets had fallen. Karrde encouraged her viewpoint, had from the moment he hired her. He had never threatened consequences if she rejected something. The worst complaint she had about Karrde was his tendency to go unavailable because he was traveling.

Karrde would never send anyone working for him to train under Anor's tutelage. If Palpatine had truly cared for her the way he always professed that he did, Anor never would have spoken to her much less touched.

It was a little unnerving to feel that so strongly now. The only safety she ever had was what she carved out of the galaxy by her own efforts, so why did she feel like she had something to compare it to? She remembered her body squeezed by soft arms and warm kisses pressed against her forehead and cheeks. Rough, thick fingers ruffled her hair. A woman's warm voice droned above as a heavy woven blanket held her body down and kept out the sharp cold. The man watching in the doorway, the woman reading from a datapad, she could trust them with her life and love.

But that had never happened! Oh, it was Luke's childhood. She knew of it now like it was her experience, like he knew her training to earn scraps of affection from Palpatine.

She pushed away the humiliating pity that she had never seen through Palpatine's performance and that Luke knew that too. Now was too close to a time to act. The house on her left was still and quiet, just like its neighbors on that side of the street. Luke's presence radiated in the Force in spite of the dampening field around him. She didn't push through it. It was expedient—rather than petty—to not get into an argument over tactics right now. She extended her Force probe to the rest of the house. Two other humans inside, one brighter than the other. She had no time to ponder what that meant because the delivery landspeeder rounded the curve in the street. She stood up and grabbed the back of her jacket with the Force so it stayed against her back. This jacket had a large padded column down the center of the back the same width of her lightsaber, so she had removed most of the padding for a hidden lightsaber pocket. The metal behind the lining rested against the small of her back.

The minuscule gate slid open with the code the landspeeder transmitted. Mara could have easily jumped the chest-high fence, but it was far less noticeable to stride in alongside the vehicle partially hidden by its tall-walled cargo bed. She tucked her hands in her jacket pockets and strolled towards the front door as the landspeeder moved to a side door towards the rear. The space between the house and the fence had been paved in a decorative pattern with the greenery corralled in beds alongside the fence and planting pots next to the house. She mounted the steps up to the door's landing and triggered the door annunciator just as the landspeeder's door slammed. A human hesitated between the two doors and Mara triggered the door annunciator again.

The teal-colored door slid open before she triggered the chime a third time. Bendak Anor's gray eyes blinked slowly before his thin lips curled up inside his beard. "Kriff-toy," he breathed out.

Mara only raised her eyebrow at him, ignoring the way his delight and his eyes raking over her made her skin pebble. "You weren't expecting me? After all the trouble you've gone to get my attention?"

"Not so soon," he said honestly before his anger sparked. "Your attention never should have left me. You'll relearn that lesson soon enough." He stepped to the right and gestured for her to enter the house. Mara held herself loose as she crossed the threshold. He grabbed her right forearm as the door slid shut and locked behind her. Her holdout blaster pressed painfully into her flesh. "Still hiding weapons with my techniques? No poison darts in your hair."

"I save the poison darts for special occasions."

Anor tightened his grip on her arm and blaster. "Like going to the opera and letting rebel scum and aliens fawn all over you." He shoved up her jacket sleeve and yanked the blaster out of the holster. "I hope you enjoyed it; it shall be years before you earn public privileges again." He dropped her arm, rustled his tunic behind her, and squeezed her hips. "But I am so looking forward to your attempts to ingratiate yourself."

She didn't twist away from his grip. "I'm here for Skywalker."

He let go of her hips and circled around to her front, leaning far too close. He had tucked her small blaster into the waistband of his trousers. His hand flicked open the top two fasteners of her tunic so that the swell of her cleavage was exposed. "Miss him that badly? What in Malachor attracts you to him? He'd rather meditate than play." His finger traced the outline of the tunic along her skin.

Her breath caught in her throat until she got it past her outrage. Let him think it was only a gasp. She gazed at him while her brow furrowed. "You're not his type. Where is he, Anor?"

His hand rose from her breasts and slapped across her cheek. She jerked with the blow, but turned back to him. "Show respect, kriff-toy. You know what the deal is for Skywalker."

She kept her eyes on his face. Her gaze had only hit the floor for one man in the galaxy and even he hadn't deserved the gesture. But Anor had always appreciated the defiance and the excuse it gave him for what he wanted to do. His tongue moistened his lips as his hands came to rest on his hips. The wood-covered floor pressed hard against her knees when she knelt. The majority of it was a light-tan, cut into short strips, and laid at angles to the white walls of the foyer and hall. A darker brown wood was inlaid into a mosaic border close to the walls. But she kept her eyes on Anor's face, cataloging the state of his arousal which had increased as she sank down. Her back was straight and her chin high. "Time to let him go."

He reached out and stroked the short hair around her temple and down to her jaw not caught in the braid. "I said I wouldn't keep him. One Jedi Knight is worth an Emperor's Hand. Stay." He left the foyer and Mara had to seize her panic and choke it dead. She had to trust the astromech's programmed self-preservation and dedication to get it inside and out of sight. But Anor only stepped into a side room and returned just as quickly holding a Thalassian slaving collar with a half-meter of chain attached to it. "But I did promise myself he'd watch your punishment first."

She took it from him and resisted her urge to slam it right between his gleaming eyes. He had Luke in his playroom, the sooner she made this show of submission, the sooner Anor would take her there for his creative punishments. She kept her gaze on his triumphant face as she fastened the cold metal around her throat.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** My apologies for the tardiness. I was out of town for the weekend and away from my computer and then faultily remembered posting this chapter. I'll be on time for the next update.


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Luke reached out to the nearest curved bar and felt the stun field energy before he touched it. The headache from yesterday was still there, despite the hours of sleep he had gotten after Anor—Mara had named him Anor—fed Luke and left the windowless room, and it made meditation harder as it throbbed with the buzzing of the cage. He looked above his head. The top of the cage was a seamless piece of metal, the same as the floor. The stun field generator was probably above—it made more sense for the repulsorlift to be underneath—but without his lightsaber or any other tools, he couldn't sabotage it. His captor had removed his comlink and his belt while Luke had been stunned, and left them on the table next to the holoprojector. He reached out to grab them with the Force. The buzz slammed harder against his head. He stopped with a ragged sigh. Whoever had designed this cage had done an insidious job. Myrkr had made him feel blind, but at least it hadn't hurt.

Mara was closer now, even if he couldn't concentrate and get a fix on her location. Of course, she wouldn't turn around just because he said so. Worry gnawed his gut and he couldn't release it into the Force, not yet. She had arrived. And given how she loved to share details of her past with anyone, she hadn't brought reinforcements. Shavit, she didn't need to fling herself into pain to spare him. He could put up with Anor's spikes of lust as long as the man didn't act on it.

He reached out, ignoring the cage's increasing hum, to feel her. To his personal north, her shields barricaded her thoughts and emotions. But Anor's lust-tinged glee sang triumphantly before Luke pulled back with a gasp. He rubbed the tense muscles cording the back of his neck as worry transmuted to dread.

The door slid open before Anor and he tugged the red-haired woman inside with a length of chain. And the dreadful knowing that Luke was right didn't stop the surge of anger that pushed him to his feet when he saw the metal slaving collar around Mara's pale throat. "E chu ta." Luke didn't even recognize the voice coming from his mouth. "Let her go."

Anor stopped near the chair and tilted his head as he stared at Luke. "Well, maybe that explains it." He glanced back at Mara before returning his gaze to Luke. Once the older man's head turned, she rolled her brilliant green eyes. "What's wrong, Jedi? I thought you wanted to see my art."

Luke curled his fists against his sides. He hadn't felt this angry when Leia was chained to Jabba's throne. He had to control it.

Anor's lips curled into a grin inside his white beard. "Oh what shall we show him, kriff-toy?" Luke clenched his teeth together while Anor gazed at him. The older man turned and leered over Mara's still dressed body. "How well you balance on a ball until you're dancing in the air? He gets so upset at the idea of you hurt; he probably won't be able to handle a noose around your neck."

It didn't feel like Luke was breathing now, but Mara had her don't-waste-my-time expression on. "Since when do you fulfill requests from the audience?" she asked.

Her bored tone ignited Anor's rage. He jerked the chain, forcing her upper body down. "That is not how you speak to your master!" He yanked the chain again while she forced her head up to stare at him. "I will beat that disrespect out of you again. I have a bacta tank. It's up to you how long you spend in it."

"Let her go." Luke repeated and put the Force behind the words. The buzzing of the cage increase and Mara winced.

Anor turned back to the cage. "Stop that or you'll wake up bound and gagged! You have no power here, rebel scum." Luke eased off the flow of the Force and his headache receded slightly. Anor jerked Mara's chain again before he looked at her. "On your knees and address me properly, kriff-toy."

Luke's fists tightened.

Mara yanked her head back. "No."

Anor's thin eyebrows lowered and drew together forming a yirt in wrinkles above his nose. His lips drew back from his teeth as his nostrils flared. "You know where he is now so you dare to be defiant with me?" He seized the smaller woman's arm and pulled it along with the chain. His pivot aimed slamming Mara face first into the cage. Luke pushed back with the Force ignoring the pounding in his skull and the hum of the cage. Her body jolted to a stop centimeters away from the stun field. Anor let go of the chain and grabbed Mara's braid, pulling her head back as he stepped closer behind her. "You are in enough trouble for ignoring your master for years."

The lights of the room flickered. Luke stared down at Mara's up-turned face. She grinned like a predator without a trace of fear in her expression. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly.

Mara's gleeful eyes met Luke's. "You were never the one who held me enslaved, Anor."

"I'm the one who will hold you now and forever." His grip tightened on her hair. "The Emperor Reborn will not take you from me."

The lights in the ceiling switched off.

"You forgot what else I was trained for," Mara said. The blows hit a body unprepared for it and an expulsion of air almost had a groan in it. The meaty thwacks stopped when a body hit the wood-covered floor. Tiny snapping sounds filled the silence next.

The scream that followed was masculine but moving into a higher register with the pain. "My hand!" Anor screamed again.

"That's what one must do when one must stop someone from activating stun fields or shock collars." Mara said before Luke heard the rustle of clothing. "One remote, two remotes, thank you," she added. A snap-hiss sounded over the inhaling sob and the blue lightsaber lit up the torture chamber.

Anor was on the floor, cradling his right hand to his torso and scooting away from Mara toward the wall between two of the torture devices. He inhaled raggedly. "This is how you show your loyalty now?"

She pointed to the cage with the lightsaber. "He's earned my loyalty; all you ever did was use me." Luke blinked, stunned that she claimed loyalty to him. She strode to the cage, raised her lightsaber over her head, and Luke was mesmerized by how the gold highlights in her hair reflected the blue-white light. "Duck, Skywalker."

He stepped back and shielded his face as she brought the lightsaber down through the top and bottom of the cage cutting three of the restraint bars free. The power and repulsorlift generators sparked and died, taking the headache-inducing hum with them.

"That was a gift!" Anor screamed.

"And now it's scrap," Mara answered. "Would you like me to cut it into smaller pieces?" The main lights flicked back on and she deactivated the lightsaber and then slid the hilt into a compartment in the back of her battered leather jacket.

Luke hopped to the floor and met her critically appraising gaze. "I'm fine." She nodded curtly before adjusting her jacket sleeve over her forearm holster. He headed to the table with the holoprojector and picked up his belt. Everything that he remembered having was still present. So Anor was highly unstable but not interested in stealing credit chips. All he needed was his lightsaber back. His headache was easing now that the hum was gone and he felt stronger and more aware than he had been just a few minutes ago.

Anor leaned against the wall and glared at Mara. "Did Iceheart scrape out fidelity and replace it with this?" Luke stiffened as he turned to see Mara's iced-over expression. Anor's sharp eyes caught Luke's reaction. "She didn't tell you about Isard. What other secrets are you keeping from the Jedi, kriff-toy?" He smirked.

Mara's alarm and pain blared over the bond, even though she revealed nothing on her face. Luke's anger surged again. He seized the holoprojector with the Force. It crashed against the tall, padded bench to Anor's right. "Use her name!"

The gray-haired man raised his head from the crouch he went into and stared at Luke. Luke refused to break the gaze. Mara squeezed his forearm. "He's not worth it, Luke," she said softly as she pushed composure to him through the bond.

He accepted it as he exhaled, releasing his anger to the Force. "You are free. You don't belong to anyone."

"Now," she said softly.

He glanced at her about to ask what the next step was when the torture chamber's door slid open and two uniformed men brandishing blaster pistols entered. "Nardolin Enforcement. What's going on here?"

Mara's panic gave way to aggravation aimed at Artoo. Her face betrayed nothing Luke felt through the bond as she turned to the enforcement officials. "My master," her hand fluttered at the collar and chain around her throat before pointing to Anor, "kidnapped this man." She pointed to Luke and now her shields dropped a bit to slam his still tender head. _For Force sake, do_ _ **not**_ _give them your real name!_ She took a shuddering breath. "I had to. Master didn't buy him."

"Wait," the black-haired man narrowed his monolid eyes. "You are his slave?" Neither of them had relaxed their stances as they jerked their attention between Anor, Mara, Luke, and the wreckage in the room.

"That's what he has always called me," she said in a soft, close to breaking voice.

The enforcement officials exchanged glances with each other. "Slavery is illegal on Columex," the younger man with a dark brown complexion said.

The planet wrote on Mara's wall, Luke remembered. "That's where I am?" He blurted out.

The enforcement officials exchanged glances again. "Yes, you are on Columex," the older official answered. Anor chuckled darkly and drew their attention again. "Do you have anything to say about these allegations, sir?"

Anor stared at Mara. "If I can't have you, kriff-toy…." He shoved his left hand up his sleeve. Luke's danger sense burst to his attention. His left arm wrapped around her to pull her out of the way. His hand met Mara's as they both went for her hidden lightsaber. Anor pulled out a holdout blaster and jammed it under his chin. It fired before the officials finished yelling to put down the weapon.

Mara squeezed Luke's hand behind her back. He rubbed his thumb against her skin before letting go and taking a step back.

The older enforcement official knelt next to Anor and checked his vitals. He sighed and holstered his blaster when he stood again. "He's dead." Mara pressed her hand over her mouth and made a choked sound. "Ma'am," he said it softly and gestured at his partner. The younger man holstered his blaster. "Is there anyone else he's keeping prisoner here?"

"He had a little girl with him on Gromas 16." Luke let the officials focus on him while he searched for her in the Force. She was close to this room and he pointed Mara's awareness in the right direction. "Kid was in trouble, I went to help her, and got jumped. Woke up here." Best to leave out the droideka.

Mara took the lead. "He's kept me out of…." She let her voice trail away as she led them out of the torture chamber.

The younger official considered Luke. "You're a citizen of Gromas 16, Master?"

"Darklighter, no, I was there to set up a trade deal with one of the miners."

The storage room was on the other side of a door leading outside, and contained a human-sized, powered box on the floor. Puzzlement came from the two officials and Luke didn't recognize it either. Mara knelt next to the control panel on the side. "Wait," the older official grabbed her shoulder, "what is that?"

"A sed-box," she looked up at him with widened eyes. "Sellers use them when they don't trust the cargo handlers. Keeps the shipment sedated."

"And the shipment is a slave." He let her go with disgust thickening his voice. He set his hand on his holstered blaster. "All right, open it up."

Mara pressed the buttons quickly and the top of the box released with a hiss. She pushed the lid out of the way and Luke craned his neck along with the officials to see inside. It was the same little girl from the fight with the battle droids, unharmed physically as far as he could tell through the Force. Her chest rose and fell with her breathing before tiny fists rose and rubbed at her eyes. Her large brown eyes blinked as she looked up at the adults, sleepily trying to work out who they were, until her gaze ended on Mara. Joy lit up her round face and her pearly teeth shone against her russet lips. "Mommy!" She leaped out of the box and wrapped her brown arms around Mara's neck and her legs in ragged trousers around Mara's waist. Relief pulsed through the Force from her as her face burrowed into Mara's neck.

"Merdo," the younger official said, "he was going to sell your daughter?"

Mara's arms wrapped around the child before she froze, but in her shock her mental shielding cracked. A wave of alarmed panic washed over Luke centering on the very idea of mother. _Be what they expect to see. Only let them see what they expect. Be what they expect to see._ Her rock-hard posture and the face he couldn't see wouldn't give away any turmoil; she was too good for that.

Luke projected calmness to her through the bond. _What's the next step to your plan?_

 _Oh, now you want to use the tactical advantage._ Mara's sarcasm lost none of its bite for being non-verbal. _We have to get out before these guys decide to run IDs._ Mara rose to her feet gracefully, even with the added weight of the child. _I didn't calculate on law enforcement's presence._

The older official was trying to peer at the little girl's hidden face. "I'm glad he did us the favor of not wasting resources incarcerating him."

Luke probably did owe her an explanation as to why he tried to keep her from coming here alone. But now wasn't the time. _We'll figure out who she belongs to from New Republic space and get her back home. Unless you think Anor kidnapped her from this planet._

 _Anor bought her. I doubt Columex has slave markets with the reactions these two natives are having._

Luke nodded and shifted clear of the door. "Gentlebeings, you were called here to investigate a suicide." He put the Force behind his words.

The enforcement officials stared at him. "We were called out for a suicide," the older one repeated.

Mara slipped behind them and out the storage room's door. Luke continued. "You found no one else here."

"No one else was here," the younger official repeated.

"You better see to identifying the body." The two men turned and headed down the hallway back to the torture chamber. Luke headed the opposite way. Mara waited in a central hallway with a staircase and turbolift. He followed her into a foyer before the outdoor. "Wait," he said softly.

"For the evidence not to match what you told them with the mind trick?" She hissed as she whirled to face him.

He gently tugged the collar so the latch was no longer underneath the child and unclasped it. "Better. You don't need to wear that around the city." He dropped it and the chain on the floor.

Her expression was incredulous as she hurried through the outer door. Artoo was spinning circles in the pavement of the driveway, keeping the gate open. The droid trilled happily when he saw Luke, and Luke patted the blue and silver dome. "Head across the street to the mass transit station," Mara said in a low voice as she shifted her hold on the child who still hadn't let go. How traumatized had she been by Anor that latching onto Mara's stiff body was comfort?

Luke liked the look of this city on Columex. The inhabitants had incorporated a lot of plant life into this neighborhood at least, but he followed Mara's trotting pace under the shade trees and through the pedestrian walk-through. A passenger maglev train finished pulling into the station as they entered. He didn't want to draw attention by asking why this method rather than a rented airspeeder when she used a prepaid authorization for their passage back to the spaceport and Mara's urgency compelled him not to ask her mentally either. He was glad he hadn't worn his black tabard over his tunic and trousers; he didn't stand out from the other passengers boarding the train. She finally relaxed onto a short bench seat in the car and he settled on the one facing her. Artoo blocked anyone from joining their little alcove, though the amount of passengers let everyone spread out in the available seats. Mara's relaxation ended when she glanced at him again and he felt the slow crawl of trepidation over the bond. He didn't detect any unwanted attention from anyone else. "Are you all right?" he asked as the train left the station.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" The child shifted on Mara's lap and concern for what should be spoken in front of her spiked over the trepidation. Artoo warbled and she focused on him. "I'm never working with your droid again. It doesn't stick to the plan."

He grinned at her. "Can't blame that on me; he's been like that since we've met. I think it's a factory setting."

Artoo responded with a series of whistles that ended with a electronic squawk. Mara dug for her belt under the child's leg.

Luke frowned at the droid. "I can't believe you just said that."

Mara snorted as she read her datapad. "Okay, I agree with that." Her green eyes met his. "You do have a bad habit of leaving your enemies alive."

"I have to give them a chance to accept help, preservation of life is important. It doesn't always turn out bad." He gestured at her before he sighed. "I did what I could. He didn't want to listen when I warned him to leave you alone." Her concern washed over him and it felt good, even if she didn't need to worry about him. The train stopped at the next station. He paused until the passengers settled and the train began again. "I'm fine, really. Just hungry and grubby. Did you get my case from my ship on Gromas 16?"

She shook her head above the messy mass of black curls jammed under her chin. "Your ship was not docked at the coordinates I was given."

"I docked in the spaceport. Do we have time to go shopping? I'm sure you don't have anything stored on board for the cute mynock on you right now either."

The child spoke with a trace of indignation. "I'm not a mynock." Her limbs loosened around Mara and she aimed her scowl at Luke without letting go fully.

"You're clinging like a mynock and I don't know your name, so—"

The child whirled in Mara's lap, causing Mara's arms to spring open. She tucked up into a crouch then leaped across the narrow aisle between the benches. Thankfully, she landed on Luke's thighs and gripped his black tunic before he could steady her. She put her broad nose to his. "You do too know my name, Daddy."

"Something you forgot to tell everyone?" Mara asked with her pink lips quirking

"None of my relationships have lasted long enough for children." The little girl pulled back and he saw her lower lip trembling. He didn't want to add to her fear, which he felt lurking underneath her relief. Maybe they were the first people to treat her kindly in so long, she was equating them with parents. "I don't remember your name. Tell me again." He put a hand on her back so she wouldn't fall.

"Korora," she said softly and her irritation bled into confusion.

"Korora," he repeated. "I won't forget now."

Korora let go of his tunic and jumped towards Mara. The woman caught her and Korora plopped down, her legs dangling off Mara's lap and leaning the side of her body into Mara's torso. "Are we going to the green place with all the falling water?"

"Is that home?" Luke asked softly.

Korora shook her head and Mara shot him a look. _We are on an Imperial sympathetic planet and your four-day-old stubble is a lousy disguise. Save the interrogation._

 _Fine, it can wait until we get off planet._

"We're going shopping." Mara contorted to manipulate the datapad she wanted to read without dumping Korora off her lap. "Let's see if Karrde has any recommendations for a store that won't remember us."

Luke smirked. Of course Mara got intel; she wouldn't have come without intel. The train paused at another station, but it still wasn't their stop. His smirk shifted to a smile as he regarded her intense focus on the datapad and Korora straining to look at it too. She relaxed now that she had something to plan. She looked good with a child on her lap. She always looked beautiful no matter what, but still he was surprised by how much he wanted to lean across and kiss her right now.

Mara's head jerked up and she stared at him. Shavit, he had projected that. He raised his mental shields as his face heated. Her puzzled frown looked more pronounced at his embarrassment. "Sorry," he muttered. "It's just you're beautiful—" His brain's stop message got to his mouth in time because Mara did not like the idea of motherhood and he'd do no one in their group any favors by reminding her. "In that tunic." Mara and Korora both looked at the plain green tunic under Mara's brown jacket. "Matches your eyes," he finished. That sounded just as stupid out of his mouth as it did from various holodrama characters.

Korora looked up and grinned while Mara looked down at her tunic. Mara smiled back before glancing back up at Luke. "Yes, colors are pretty, Farmboy. You should wear more of them."

"I do—"

Mara cut him off by raising three fingers. "Black, orange, and brown. And technically black isn't a color."

Korora giggled at them both. He sighed. He had heard that before from various friends. Hell, Lando had offered to take him shopping after they got back from Wayland to get him into something besides black. Colors had meanings on Tatooine and he didn't want to shake off what he had been raised with. The shade of green Mara wore was commonly used to wrap a new baby in, especially during a naming ceremony. Black meant freedom and that's why he wore it often. But Mara was raised on Coruscant, and they didn't feel the same way about colors.

"This is our stop." Mara put away her datapad as the train slowed and looked at Korora. "Are you going to walk?"

Korora shook her head as she wrapped her arms around Mara's neck again. "No."

"At least she warned me this time." Mara settled Korora's legs around her hip as she stood up. Her _be what they expect_ mental mantra was so loud, she was projecting it. Luke considered offering to carry Korora, but with the way the child gripped Mara's jacket, he doubt it would go over well.

Luke and Artoo followed Mara further into the spaceport. She stopped outside a mid-sized storefront that had a crowd browsing the merchandise already."What credits do you have?" she asked.

He grimaced. "Nern resh." She grimaced right back at him. "I'll pay you back," he said quickly.

"Yes, you will. And you'll take some of your assets and set up your own account with the InterGalactic Banking Clan to avoid this in the future." She carried Korora into the store, heading straight for the children's clothing section.

Artoo whistled at him. "Yeah, I remember Lando telling me to do that too. I just never got around to it." He headed to the men's section and Artoo rolled after him. A couple of sets of basics and socks, the only trousers the store had in his size were black, but there was a plethora of colors in his size of tunics. He paused at the blue one. Leia and Winter always wanted him in blue. Blue the color of water, life, joy, renewal, thanksgiving, and weddings. Aunt Beru always wore something blue because Uncle Owen loved to see her in it. And now Mara asked to see him in a new color.

He glanced across the store. Mara was trying to get Korora to let go so she could size her better. He couldn't spend all day making a decision. Fine, he'd wear the blue because his relationship with Mara was changing, for the better he hoped. He added the blue tunic to the pile draped over his arm and put a gray one over it. He grabbed a toiletries travel kit and joined Mara.

She passed two travel duffel bags to him. "We're both here, nobody will yank you away, now can you get down and try on this jacket?"

Korora craned her neck to see Luke before nodding and loosening her hold.

Mara slid her down to the floor and helped her arms into a lavender jacket. The woman sighed in relief at the fit. "Okay, now we know her size. Watch her while I get some outfits." She helped the jacket back off and turned back to the racks.

Korora turned to Luke and held up her arms. "Up."

He made sure he had a grip on all the items before he knelt and scooped her up with his free arm. She grabbed his shoulder as he stood up. "High enough?" She nodded with a grin. Her gaze landed on a stack of stuffed toys just beyond the clothing racks and her eyes widened. He moved them closer. It was a pile of shaggy banthas though better groomed than any he had seen on Tatooine. A quick glance around to confirm that no one was watching them, and then he lifted one over to Korora. She gasped but grabbed it in a one-arm hug. "It wants to leave with you," Luke said before chuckling at Korora's reaction.

Mara returned to them with two pairs of small boots. "That's not a necessity." She compared the boots in hand to the ones on Korora's feet.

"Of course it is, every child should have a toy. I was given toys; I'm sure you were too." Mara remained silent and Luke found himself irked by how Palpatine had raised her. Really would a simple birthday gift ruin an assassin? "We can put weapons on the list of things given to you," he added.

"Weapons are tools not toys," she snapped back. "I had a falling-star globe when I was small." She looked at Korora squashing the bantha's horn under her chin. "Were you punished for taking your toys apart?"

He shook his head. "I think by the time I started that Uncle Owen was teaching me how to repair things."

Mara nodded. "Your area of expertise then. Let's pay for this stuff and get to the ship." Luke frowned but followed her to the bored clerk manning the sales desk.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** "For the evidence not to match what you told them with the mind trick?" — The death of Bendak Anor became a staple in odd mysteries and conspiracy theory circles on Columex in the years to come. Because the forensic evidence points to the self-inflicted blaster bolt to the head as the primary cause of death, so how did his hand get broken? What cut through the strange spherical cage so cleanly? Who were the originators of the male and female genetic debris discovered in the cage and in a sed-box found in the house? Both were of the unrelated to Anor and each other. Why was the holoprojector thrown into one of the custom furniture pieces damaging both? Who commed Nardolin Enforcement for aid if Anor was already dead? Why didn't Anor supervise the unloading of his supplies like he did every week? How did the internal and external security holorecordings for the day get erased?

Korora's name: A little family history; when my father was about two, my grandfather packed up him, my grandmother, and my aunt and took them to the South Pacific island where he had a construction job after World War II. I don't know how long they lived there and the Polynesian souvenirs they brought back never said the name of the island. One of these days, I will have to get the name out of my father. My mother has called it Korora before. Ignoring the problem of third-hand details, my mother is notorious for adding letters to names that aren't there (Chicago is Chicargo, consistently). There is a Koror Island near the Philippines—and it may turn out to actually be the place—so I borrowed its spelling for my mother's pronunciation and gave the name to a character.

Anor and Korora originated together in my mind, but it took longer to find a story they worked in. Anor's pro-slavery, sadism, and past training Mara and Korora hugging Mara straight out of the sed-box and calling Mara 'mommy' have never changed. They nearly ended up in the _Rescue the Farmboy_ AU but I really couldn't justify them raising a four-year-old on various Rebel bases.

Colors mean something on Tatooine: I was already leaning towards "blue is a sign of prosperity and reserved for weddings because of associations with water" before discovering the work Fialleril put into color symbolism in her Tatooine Slave Culture, so I've borrowed the rest from her.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

"Welcome to the _Jade's Escape_." Mara punched the code that opened the entry ramp that descended from the rear of the YT-1760. Luke's gaze seemed to rove over the engines admiringly. She was a good ship despite the flaws in the interior. He carried Korora up the ramp. Mara pointed out the features as they moved through the ship. "Cargo hold and ladder to the quad guns." She pointed to the ladder directly across from the entry ramp on the other side of the hold.

"Don't play on that," Luke said to Korora.

Mara made sure the entry ramp closed up behind them before leading the way to the upper left wall of the half-circle shaped hold. The door slid open into a wedge-shaped compartment filled with an autochef and built-in storage drawers for the food and dishes. "The galley is open to the crew lounge. Watch the deck plating here." The lounge wedge was wider than the galley. A viewscreen squared off the corner next to the galley and a padded bench hugged the wall and corner between the forward doorway and the door on the right. "That's the 'fresher through there." She pointed to the door on the right.

"No playing in there either," Luke said to Korora as he set her on her feet. She patted the table secured in front of the bench.

"The crew cabin is in here." Mara headed through the forward door and stopped in the hallway in the neck of the ship between two doors. Storage cabinets lined the wall on the left and double bunks were set into the bulkheads on the right. "Cockpit through there." Mara jerked her thumb at the door behind her as she turned to face her passengers. "You can't play in there either."

Korora nodded solemnly, clutching her bantha.

"So I've got my choice of the top bunks?" Luke looked at the built-in compartments at head level. "Korora will be safer closer to the deck."

"Okay. You take the first turn through the 'fresher while I comm Karrde and tell him an extraction isn't necessary." Mara shrugged off her jacket and hung it into her clothes storage cabinet. She slipped the lightsaber back out and hooked it to her belt.

He didn't hide his expression of relief as he deposited Korora's bag on the unoccupied bottom bunk. "You did ask for help."

"Of course, I did. I had no idea if Anor would pull out the droideka again. And you were being less than helpful."

He winced sheepishly about that. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking tactically at the time." She leveled her best tell-me-what-I-don't-know stare at him, and it worked just as well on Luke as it did on Karrde's other employees. "He kept ranting about owning you like he was a Hutt." She could feel Luke's compassionate anger stirring through the bond and didn't know how to explain what Anor got a thrill out of sexually in Korora's presence. Luke sighed and reined in his anger. "My grandmother and father were both slaves on Tatooine. Everyone swore that he didn't gild her chains for jewelry when Uncle Owen's father freed and then married her. My father won his freedom in a pod race, left Tatooine, became a Jedi, fell, and became enslaved again by Palpatine."

"I didn't know that about your family," she said softly. Korora's head kept turning between them.

He shrugged. "My grandmother died before the Clone Wars started. I'm sure no one considers it pertinent information about me." He glanced at her, earnest forthrightness plain on his face. "You're proud of the life you have now with your jobs and your friends. All Anor wanted was power over you and that's the last thing you want from anyone." He swallowed. "I understand what you wanted on Wayland better now and why."

"Anor was hardly in the same class as C'baoth."

"Yes, C'baoth was worse, but it was really the same end of the gaffi stick. Coercion, no autonomy, just the Imperial way." He opened the storage locker near the door, leaving one free between hers and it, and slung the duffel bag with his purchases inside.

Disgust simmered as he unpacked them. They had never talked about what had happened between him and C'baoth on Jomark, but now the Imperial plot was her fault. "Don't bottle up how you feel about Imperials. No need to spare my feelings."

His hands stilled as he stared into the storage locker. "I don't consider you an Imperial," he said quietly. "Since you've had choices, you have never sided with them."

Something twisted inside her, but she stayed calm for the child who hugged her stuffed bantha between them. "I had choices then; I told Anor no countless times."

Luke's anger rose again as he turned out of the locker. "Of course you did, once Palpatine decided you were finished suffering under Anor's tutelage."

"It was training not torture," she began trying to find the words to explain what was enjoyable that wouldn't scar either Korora or Luke.

But his sympathetic grimace stole the words away. "But you were never free to choose who to learn—" He faltered glancing down at Korora's huge brown eyes and reddened slightly. "What Anor taught you. Nobody ever sat you down with a list of ways you could serve the Empire and asked what would you like to do, not once he decided you were going to be his Hand."

"That doesn't excuse service to evil, the pride I felt in my well-done jobs." She wanted to curl in and shield herself, but she deserved striking down so she'd stand and take the blows.

"Not an excuse, an incentive to make better choices than the ones that were forced on you." A smile eased away his grimace. "You know the difference now."

His smile helped ease the twist away. "I have something to compare my experiences to now. Go take a shower. We have the whole trip to compare notes." Mara looked down at Korora. "Don't press any buttons in the cockpit." The little girl nodded and took her hand before they went through the cockpit door.

That had been surprisingly judgment-free from Luke. Mara hit Karrde's comcode and settled into the chair. She had wanted to please Palpatine and he had told her to cooperate with and learn from Anor. "Be exactly what he desires," the Emperor had told her. She wrinkled her freckled nose. She may have performed that too well judging by Anor's obsession. It was time to move on from her past, to make better choices that redressed her part in evil done in Palpatine's name. The comm unit connected to Karrde's message center again. She sighed and recorded. "I just can't seem to catch up with you. No need to send resources to Columex, I got Skywalker out."

Korora whacked her with the stuffed bantha as she tried to clamber into Mara's lap. Mara lifted her up and addressed the holorecorder. "Skywalker plus one, but I'll explain everything later. We'll head to Gromas 16 so Skywalker can pick up his X-wing before returning to Coruscant. I should have some down time to catch up then. Oh and Anor mentioned an Emperor Reborn. Probably another pretender to the throne, but have fun looking into it. Jade out." She ended the comm and tried not to think about how Karrde was going to react to the explanation. At least it was a skill set he wouldn't ask her to utilize.

"Is it okay to talk now?" Korora peered up at the console.

Mara checked for any waiting messages. Nothing new, that was surprising. Then she looked down at Korora. "No one told you not to talk."

"The men with the blasters and the chains said to shut up. You and Daddy weren't talking much after the store so I thought they were closer and we were sneaking." She squeezed the bantha.

Mara turned the chair slightly and set the nav computer to calculate for Gromas 16 again. "The men with blasters, did they wear white armor?"

"Their armor was all colors but most of them just had clothes."

Great, Mara thought, an armed group kidnapped her first.

"How come you press the buttons?"

"Because I'm the pilot."

"When can I pilot?"

"When you're bigger."

"I am a big girl." Korora's scowl scrunched her entire face.

"When you sit in a chair and your feet reach the floor, then you're big enough to be a pilot." Korora looked down at the deck. Mara swung her out of her lap. "Come on, the computer's calculating and I need to ask the droid something."

The little girl followed obediently through the narrow cabin. Artoo had settled in the lounge blocking the access to the gun well ladder. The barrel-shaped droid was taller and wider than Korora and would listen to Luke if the quad guns needing manning. "Artoo, did you download data from Anor's home computer?"

The droid beeped affirmatively.

Korora clapped her hands without dropping the bantha. "You talk too!"

"Did you find anything about his recent slave purchases?"

The processor indicator light flashed blue and red. She set her datapad on the table in front of the bench. The refresher door slid open and Luke stepped out, adjusting his belt around his waist. The new black trousers looked the same as his others, but the tunic was the same shade of blue as Artoo's panels. She hadn't paid any attention to what he had picked out, but seeing that he had actually listened to her advice shot warmth through her.

He felt it through the bond and jerked his head up to stare at her. The blue made his eyes even brighter. His chin continued up in defense of teasing.

The warmth in her consolidated on her cheeks, and her gaze dropped away before she realized she was smiling. Awkward uncertainty and warmth echoed through the bond until he tightened his own shields.

He cleared his throat. "Comm unit is in the cockpit?"

"Yes." She looked back up in time to see his flushed cheek as he turned into the cabin. Those new trousers did fit just like his old ones. She looked down at Korora. "Time to get you clean." She tried not to fret that she had never cleaned a small child before.

The worry was premature. Korora kept looking for a water faucet in the sonic shower but she remained inside long enough to get clean. She accepted the new basics and the red jumpsuit that looked comfortable enough to sleep in. However the sonic vibrations that lifted dirt and sweat did nothing for the mats and knots that a week or longer without combing had developed in the child's natural curly black hair.

Luke returned to the lounge to see Mara wielding a comb and detangling solution like weapons and Korora standing between Mara's knees and digging one hand into the woman's thigh as Mara worked on a hair knot that didn't budge. "The solution has to sit in the hair for awhile," he said helpfully.

"So you're also your sister's hairdresser? Did she start chewing you out over the comm?" Mara set the comb on the table and filled her palm with more of the solution.

"I have been on occasion, but I had to leave a message on her personal comm. No one answered at her office or at their apartment."

"Maybe they were asleep." Mara worked the solution into Korora's hair and the child lifted her fingers out of Mara's thigh.

"Threepio usually answers the comm in that case." He shrugged, but the concern still lurked in him and she felt it in the bond. "The nav computer finished while I was in there. Thanks for thinking about my X-wing."

"We're closer, might as well pick it up." She finished massaging Korora's hair and wiped her hands on a towel. The little girl fled to the other side of the table. "Cutting all your hair off and starting over is an option."

"No cutting, Mommy." She wrapped herself around Luke's leg.

He smirked. "Mentioned that a few times already?"

"Just for that, you can have the next hair combing session. Secure yourselves and I'll start take-off."

Korora let go of Luke's leg and lifted her hands to him, but crossed her wrists. He recognized the gesture first and sympathy and revulsion slammed into Mara's mind before she realized the child expected to be restrained. He knelt in front of Korora, gently lowering her arms, and nothing but kind sadness on his face. "No chains, no one will chain you ever again. We're going to sit on the bench and buckle on crash restraints; that's what Mommy means."

She blinked at him, threw her arms around his neck and slapped his back with the bantha. He held her close until her full body shudders calmed.

"Skywalker," Mara said softly and didn't know what she wanted to warn him about. He wasn't stupid; he knew not to form an attachment with a child that wasn't his.

"Do you need me in the cockpit?"

"No. Just don't take long to strap in." Luke nodded and scooped up Korora as he stood. Mara headed to the cockpit.

Columex's spaceport didn't have any reason to delay their takeoff, but Mara didn't relax until the mottled lines of hyperspace filled the cockpit viewport. She heard Luke's voice as she moved into the cabin. "We're in hyperspace now. You can tell because the sublight engines have powered down and the hyperdrive has a different hum. When you hear that, it's safe to get out of your crash restraints."

"This button?" Korora asked.

"That's right." Luke glanced up at Mara as she entered the lounge. "She's got her serious look on. You want to tackle it now?"

"Would you rather her blurt out something on Coruscant and the news get a hold of it?" She sat on the other end of the semi-circle bench so Korora was between them. She looked up at Mara. "Korora, you know we're not your mother and father. Why are you calling us that?"

"I saw you. We were in the green grass and water falling around place having a picnic. Are we going there now?"

"Sorry, Gromas 16 is red not green," Mara said.

"You saw us," Luke said with a note in his voice that Mara couldn't place, "when you were sleeping in the box?"

Korora nodded. "And the other ship that the men with blasters put us on." She squeezed the bantha and buried her face in its synthetic fur.

"You're safe now; it's okay." Luke lay his hand on her curly black hair. He looked up at Mara. "Force visions, she had Force visions of us."

"That doesn't make us parents," Mara said. Korora inhaled deeply and looked up again. Luke drew his hand back. "How did the men with the blasters get you on their ship?" Mara tried to make her question gentle, but given the look Luke hit her with, it wasn't a successful attempt.

Korora stared at the table. "It was nighttime and blaster shooting and screaming started outside. Momma told me to hide and I went under my bed. Then the door blew up and Momma yelled and shooting in the house and the man with the blaster threw my bed across the room and grabbed me. He put me on his shoulder like this." She propped the bantha on her shoulder. "Momma was on the floor. She was burned here." She moved to Mara and patted Mara's sternum above her breasts. "Momma was gone." She crawled into Mara's lap and wrapped her arms around Mara's neck again.

"I'm sorry," Mara said softly. "We had to ask. We won't talk about it any more."

Artoo beeped at them, long and complicated. Mara understood that he finished her data request, but she didn't understand the Binary for what he had found. And she couldn't reach her datapad without pressing Korora into the table.

Luke frowned at his droid, and his anger was dulled by sadness. "Krill senth cresh, are you sure?" Artoo beeped affirmatively. Luke rubbed a hand over his face. "Artoo downloaded a bill of sale for a four-year-old human girl from the Karazak Slavers Cooperative." He all but sneered at her confused frown. "Don't tell me you've never heard of them; you've actually left the Core."

"I thought the stories were exaggerated to make themselves more dangerous or successful. Karrde doesn't do business with anyone connected to them."

"They don't have to exaggerate much unless enslaving whole villages at a time without the might of the Imperial military is something you think every criminal organization should be able to do." He pushed off the bench and paced in the small space. "We can't return her; there's no one left to return her to even if we knew her home planet."

Artoo whistled mournfully.

"Of course, they didn't list her home planet. That's standard practice." He stopped and gazed at Mara and Korora, his expression shifting to regret. "A Force Sensitive child and no way to see if her home planet has any more."

Korora did have the Force; Mara sensed it for herself. And the odds against finding anyone related to Korora were incalculable as she well knew from her own dead end records. But that didn't mean the track of Luke's thoughts should go through unchallenged. "So you're going to adopt your future students instead of snatching them?"

His focus returned to her and Korora. "Hey, don't put all the responsibility on raising her on me, Mommy."

That tease coupled with the knowledge that there was no birth mother to return Korora to sparked the same anxiety Mara first felt when the child leapt out of the sed-box. Skywalker didn't understand how vulnerable Korora was because he would never hurt or twist a child. But Anor didn't buy her for his own use, so that meant the Emperor Reborn Anor mentioned wanted to recreate a Force user assassin, to lie to her about her purpose. Was he as big a monster as Palpatine who used his final moments to send her a lie so she would murder an innocent man in revenge? The child clutching Mara's neck was too young, too frail to be twisted into a ruthless killer like Mara had been. Her blood-stained hands continued to rub Korora's back. This was an awful cosmic joke. How could she protect Korora without turning the child into the same ruthless killer she was?

Luke squeezed her shoulder, jolting her physically and mentally out of her thoughts. "You are more than what he made you into." He smiled down at her. "Korora's not afraid of you."

"She hasn't seen me at my worst."

"I'm not afraid of you either."

"Yes, but your lack of a self-preservation instinct is quantifiable."

Luke squeezed her shoulder again and chuckled. "I'll make some food. Everything will look better after we've eaten." He headed into the galley.

Korora spoke up from her burrow against Mara's chest. "What's gonna happen to the men with blasters?"

"It's up to the New Republic to fight them. It's not feasible for a smaller military force to try."

Korora unwrapped from Mara's neck to look at the woman's face. "What does that mean?"

"It's not practical," Mara offered, but Korora's confusion didn't clear. "It's best to make sure you can win the fight before you get into one."

Luke moved into the galley doorway. "What about not fighting?"

"If she becomes a Jedi like you, how likely is that?"

"Oh!" Korora slid off Mara's lap. "If you're not ready for the fight, the bad droids throw you in a cage."

"That was an ambush," Luke called back. Korora seemed unconcerned with that distinction as she patted Artoo and called him good droid. "Mara, what did you do to this autochef?" Luke called out.

She jumped up from the table, hurried to the galley, and tripped hard on the warped deck plate. Her hands pushed out to hit the deck first instead of her face, but found cloth-covered muscles. Luke's arms tightened around her and pulled her against his chest. She didn't push away. And then they both froze in place.

Being held like this was a vulnerability she never allowed herself. Her heart pounded and the want she had managed to ignore until now screamed to tilt her head back and look at him. She didn't move. She knew how to live with self denial. She had no idea how to live with the disappointment if he didn't cover her lips with his own.

His heart thundered under her ear. He was shielding just as tightly as she was, but shavit, she was probably embarrassing the hell out of him. Her cheeks began to burn. But it felt good to be held like this, better than she ever imagined. His hands seared her back through her tunic and the throbbing want returned with the thought of those hands caressing her body

She couldn't unleash this desire on him now, not when he had only treated her as a friend, not right after Anor had exposed him to what he found degrading. He only caught her so he didn't have to pick her up off the deck. Now he was stuck because she was being weak and not extracting herself. This couldn't last; they needed to eat. At this point he was expecting a withering retort about this, but not too cutting. He had been subjected to enough thanks to her.

"If you wanted to put your arms around me, all you had to do was take me dancing." That wasn't too bad, and if it gave him future ideas, well good.

His breathing went off-kilter momentarily. He inhaled again before shifting his arms, abashment leaking through his mental shields. "Won't be much fun for you, moving all around the stage while I'm standing there like a dewback sunning itself on a rock." He made sure her feet were underneath her before releasing his grip. He whirled back to the autochef and pressed buttons on its control panel before she saw his face.

"I was talking about ballroom dancing. I was trained in both exhibition and ballroom, but I'm so long out of practice I wouldn't audition for any performances."

"I can't dance that way either."

She smirked at the back of his head. "Tell that to someone who hasn't seen you fight, Farmboy."

"Those skills are not transferable." He waved a hand at the control panel. "Why are all the settings turned up to the maximum?"

"The first package I put in there came out raw; the second burnt to a crisp. The ration bars I'm storing in this cabinet." She turned to the wall of cabinets and reached for the door of the one she wanted.

"Mara Jade," he said in mock reverence, "can't cook."

"Whatever. I feed myself."

"With ration bars. Go on, I know how to work the arcane autochef." He shooed her toward the door. She left the galley. He would pay for that crack, after supper. About ten minutes later, he carried two steaming plates into the lounge with the third floating in the air before him.

"Frivolous use of the Force, don't you think?" Mara cleared off the table.

He shrugged. "I didn't want you to trip again."

Korora circled around Luke with wide-open mouth and eyes. "You're making it fly." She crawled onto the bench before staring at the tray lowering itself to the table. "How are you making it fly?"

"With the Force," he answered. Mara accepted the tray he handed her before opening Korora's tray for her.

Korora knelt on the bench facing her food. "Can I fly with the Force?"

Artoo hooted emphatically against that idea with a long explanation. Mara looked at Luke. "Did you drop him?"

"During training. Come on, Artoo, that was years ago."

The droid continued to berate his human. Mara looked at Korora. "No flying with the Force in the ship. I don't have any cushions on board."

Korora pouted but stirred the purple gravy into her pale mashed tubers.

Luke stopped arguing with Artoo. "So what did Karrde have to say about this Emperor Reborn person?"

"You know Karrde will make you pay for that information."

"I'm asking you, but I'll make sure Intelligence covers the bill."

Mara cut into her meat patty with her fork. "As it happens, I had to leave a message. We'll have to wait on news about that. Unless Anor told you something else?"

He used chewing and drinking to stall for time. "He said I wouldn't be able to protect you from the Emperor Reborn, not like he could."

"Anor was planning to trade you to keep me. A Jedi Knight is worth an Emperor's Hand." She shook her head and pulled apart the roll of insta-bread. "Good thing I don't need protection from the latest pretender to the throne."

"I don't know." Luke's gaze shifted and she was sure he wasn't seeing the bulkhead he stared at. "It feels different from the other pretenders to the throne."

"Warning from the Force?"

He blinked at her sharp tone. "Nothing that concrete. I'll meditate on it later."

"What's the Force?" Korora asked and smeared purple gravy across her cheek as she turned to Luke.

Mara finished her meal while he found a theological metaphor with wind that the four-year-old understood. She cleared the trays and flatware from the table and let him wipe Korora's face clean. He still intercepted her before she made it into the galley. She handed over the trash and headed to the entertainment viewscreen. She was still in the menu of choices when he returned. "You have anything stored that's kid appropriate to watch?" he asked.

"I'm picking an audio file." She made her selection and the beginning notes of a minor Alderaanian waltz filled the lounge. Luke recognized it—it had been performed at every New Republic ball she had attended—and his blue eyes widened in dismay. "Dancing lesson, Farmboy." She swayed toward him.

"This is a horrible idea."

She smirked at him. "Cheap entertainment for the kid."

Korora clapped her hands. "Dance, dance!"

"Really, Mara. Both Leia and Winter wrote me off as unteachable," he continued.

"Only because they've both been in dancing lessons and attending balls since they were Korora's age and don't remember how hard it was in the beginning." She took his left hand up with her right as she closed in on him.

"So have you!"

She shook her head and guided his right hand to her hip. "But I've also taught dance to provincials who never heard a waltz before their Academy education began." His dismayed expression didn't change. "Did either Leia or Winter have to soak their feet in bacta after dancing with you?"

"No."

"Then you're already better than my worst dancing experience." She shook his arms. "Relax, I don't bite."

That broke through his dismay. "We both know that isn't true."

She grinned at his sarcastic edge, the one he tried to bury under the stoic Jedi. Before she pressed the advantage of his mood change, an alarm from the cockpit ripped through the graceful notes from the recorded string instruments.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Autochef is a term I borrowed from Colonial Chrome (http colon slash slash www period colonialchrome period co period uk) when I borrowed ship layouts for the smaller ships I had interior scenes in like the interior image of the _Jade's Escape_. He describes what he designed the autochef as on the FAQ page and in more detail in the Basic Technology page. I pictured something like a cross between a microwave and the food rehydrator from _the Fifth Element_. Basically, prepackaged food goes into the machine and hot food comes out like a frozen dinner does with our microwaves. Larger ships have full galleys with stoves that are similar to planet versions and fresh food consumables. The costs and manpower of both in smaller ships isn't feasible.

He didn't gild her chains for jewelry: another metaphor I borrowed from Fialleril's meta on Tatooine Slave Culture found on this Tumblr post: http colon slash slash fialleril period tumblr period com slash post slash 157047093686 slash i-had-an-idea-for-a-tatooine-slave-culture-saying.

Mara Jade can't cook: I've seen it multiple times in other fanfics, but I have no idea if it is canon in book set and published after the _Hand of Thrawn_ duology. But I love the idea that the Emperor didn't think it was important to teach a prize assassin how to feed herself other than with ration bars so here it is yet again.

Also to the person who keeps theorizing Palpatine built Korora from Luke and Mara's DNA, he did not. She is not genetically related to either of them. I fancast Skai Jackson at four for Korora's face.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

Their joined hands dropped free. "What is that, a proximity alert?" Luke asked.

"That's the drop out of hyperspace and take this comm alarm," Mara explained. "Karrde put it in all his ships, but it's never been used as far as I know. Strap in." She hustled to the cockpit and threw herself into the pilot's seat. Just as she assumed, all the instruments registered normal.

Luke dropped into the second seat in the cockpit. "Korora's strapped in and Artoo's watching her."

She nodded and turned back to the viewport. Her hands flew over the controls. Everything was safe for an emergence into subspace, so she pulled the lever and watched the stars reappear. She quickly set the autopilot.

Luke had the comm unit up and slipped out of the chair when she approached. He remained at her shoulder as she punched in her authorization code. She didn't realize how big the knot of worry inside her gut was until the sight of Karrde's blue-tinged head unraveled it slightly. His tense expression refusing to relax yanked all the strings back tight. Luke's hand rested on her shoulder and his thumb pressed into the muscle tensing there.

"Mara," Karrde's voice was controlled but she still heard the slight relief in it. "I see you found Skywalker." His dark eyes flicked up to Luke's face. "What sector are you in?"

"Nuiri," she said after a quick glance at the nav computer. "We were headed to Gromas 16. Did you not get my messages?"

"Haven't had time for them. Coruscant was attacked yesterday. Imperial forces from the Deep Core."

Luke gasped. "Most of the Fleet is away, chasing Thrawn's Imperial ships." She felt his reeling from this revelation.

Karrde nodded. "The New Republic government has evacuated and retreated, but hasn't emerged for a counter-offensive yet."

"Leia and the twins," Luke's voice dropped. She covered the hand still on her shoulder. "They're alive. I'd know if they weren't."

Now she felt the unease from Luke through the bond. Was this what he was feeling earlier? Her danger sense began stirring. "The Emperor Reborn," she said, letting go of Luke and looking back at Karrde.

His dark eyebrows drew together. "That's the banner they've aligned under. Warning from the Force?"

"No," Luke answered. He projected his uncertainty, but didn't form the question of what to share with Karrde.

She was planning to explain everything to Karrde but not now, not after this news, and not on a comm line where anyone could overhear it. "He ran into a former aggravation of mine who mentioned it. No other helpful details before he blasted himself."

Luke's hand shifted off her shoulder. "He thought the Emperor Reborn would want you."

"Overestimating my importance. The warlords who are left don't know who I was, so I'm useless to a pretender's plans." And she was reminded how Isard had held her prisoner, attempting to pry all of the Emperor's secrets out of her. Her just finished meal lodged inside her tight stomach. This situation was different; she had resources she could depend on.

"I'm recalling everyone to the Hijarna base," Karrde said. "Skywalker, you are welcome to what sanctuary I can offer there, unless you have another destination to fall back to."

"Thank you, Karrde. Nobody gave me a fall back location. Guess they expected me to be available on Coruscant."

The power that slammed against her mind also slammed her body against the seat. The darkness crackled like lightning and the pressure felt like a storm building in the atmosphere. It drilled into her, through her, using her like a focusing prism. She screamed at the violation and slapped at the invasion.

The dark storm ignored her and began to speak. _My righteous Hand._

Her scream continued. The dead didn't return. The dead couldn't return.

 _Join me on Byss._

No painful images of death she could not alter joined this order, a microscopic mercy. The dark pressure ignored her revulsion.

 _I have a mission only you can fulfill._ The impossible voice did not wait for her affirmation. He took the storm with him, leaving her gasping, reeling, and clutching Luke's bright power to anchor herself at her end of the bond. There was no repeat of the command to kill a man she never wanted dead. She sobbed and latched on tighter.

"Skywalker, what happened?" Karrde yelled from the comm.

She blinked and realized that clutching Luke was literal. His arms wrapped around her again and balanced her mostly on his knees rather than the floor. He cradled her head against his neck and shoulder. She gripped his blue tunic front and back. "Did you hear what he said?" Her breathing shuddered.

He hugged her tighter. "Your shielding slipped, but no all I felt was his presence. It felt like Palpatine."

"It was his voice; it was his power. Just like before, my second greatest talent." Her arms trembled. "Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine." Luke shifted his arm to rub her back. "Take a deep breath."

She tried but her throat was tight. "I extended the reach of my Master's power." Luke hadn't asked about that. He needed to know her orders. "He wants me back."

"What happened to Mara?" Karrde's voice yelled.

"Breathe in, Mara," Luke said.

This inhalation met a bubble of anger inside her. "Who could pretend to be him like that? I felt that stain orbiting the Sanctuary Moon. I felt him **die**."

"I felt him die too."

Unbidden by her thoughts, she saw a metal throne room already damaged by a battle and Vader lifting Palpatine's hooded form over his helmeted head. Lightning sparked over armor, material, and flesh. With two strides, Vader reached the railing and tossed the Emperor over it. He slumped over the wide metal pylons marking the edge of deck plating. Sparks and cloud-like blue energy washed over the Dark Lord of the Sith. She pushed the mental image away and it collided with the old lie of Vader and Luke raising lightsabers over a helpless old man. "Kriff, Luke, I did not need to see it." She tried to curl into a tighter ball without letting him go.

"Sorry, my shielding isn't strong right now either." He said as his apologetic dismay flooded the bond.

"He raised me and I failed him. I never wanted to see his death. I didn't want the lie I had to see for five years." Her cheeks were wet and she couldn't stop talking. "I failed him and I have to go back."

Luke pulled her tighter against his chest. His head curled down and their warm breaths mingled in the tight space between their faces. "He's dead. And if he was visiting as a Force ghost, they don't manifest like that. What is there to go back to?"

What she had before was the obvious answer and was the wrong one. What she had before turned to ashes and trapped her at the mercy of Isard's whims and Luke's compassion. Her anger bubbled again. How could her Master demand her loyalty after making no provisions for her at all? He—the most particular planner the Galaxy had ever seen—just compelled her onto a revenge kill that had nothing to do with justice or making the galaxy a better place.

But to ignore point-blank orders? Given only to her, trusted to no one else in the military or the civilian bureaucracy. "I have my orders." The rush of pride over that had turned to stone dropping in her stomach. "Nothing about killing you," she added. It was important for Luke to know that. Her throat tightened again. "I have to go."

Luke's hand continued rubbing a small circle on her back. "That's what a Palpatine-pretender wants you to do. What do you want?" Her trembling progressed to shaking. Karrde shouted something over the comm again. Luke's hand left her back to hug her with both arms. "I feel your conflict, Mara. Just name what you desire. What do you want?"

"I want my choices, Luke," she whispered. She should shout that, blast it back to that dark power that lanced her head, but her energy was leached into slumping against Luke. "And I choose to ram a Force pike into this funtihruo who broke into my head."

"That's reassuring." He shifted his embrace and lifted his head.

Cooler air touched her wet cheeks. "That's reassuring?"

"He started it. I'd be more worried if you didn't want reprisal after being hurt." Parsing that approval made her head hurt more. "Karrde's still on the comm. Do you want to talk to him?" Luke asked.

"Yes." They twisted as they stood up and Mara ended up flopping into the chair with less than her usual grace, swiping the wetness off her cheeks at the same time.

Karrde's expression was pinched as he looked at her, and Mara did her best not to quail in front of it. There was no excuse for behaving so unprofessionally, wallowing on the deck with Luke. Her nose had stopped up, and she was glad the holovid would hide the splotchiness of her face. Luke returned his hand to her shoulder.

Karrde sighed and his eyes widened a bit. "What happened, Mara? Do medics need to meet your ship?"

She shook her head. "I got a message in the Force."

"She got slammed with a Force connection," Luke said.

"It felt like Palpatine, telling me to go to Byss. I'm not joining them."

"I'm glad to hear that." Karrde's projected head shifted to look up at Luke. "How could anyone feel like Palpatine in the Force?"

"I don't know. I've never run across anything described like that in my research."

Karrde nodded and returned his steady gaze to Mara. "So we have an Imperial pretender attacking from the Deep Core and a Force attack on you and another mysterious planet."

"No, this planet I've heard of before. It was rumored in the Court to be Palpatine's personal retreat, a resort world like no other in the galaxy."

"You never went there," Luke said.

"If anyone went there, they never came back with holovids of it. Including Palpatine."

Karrde's nostrils flared. "Get to Hijarna as quick as you can. Skywalker, whenever we make contact with the New Republic, you can count on whatever assistance my organization can provide in this conflict. No one attacks one of my people without retribution."

"I can handle my own retribution. You don't have to endanger anyone on my behalf."

Karrde's black mustache tilted as his lips under it quirked. "You're one of us, Mara; we want to help. Why turn down the help?"

"Because it puts you in the path of a Force user who has fallen to the Dark Side," Luke said.

"Who attacked one of my people to force her change in affiliation." Karrde's holovid face glowered. Luke nodded, agreeing with that assessment.

Mara shook her head. "Karrde, what happened to me doesn't obligate a response from you."

"Of course it does. If I lose your affiliation, Mara, it will be to someone who sees you as valuable and treats you accordingly. Not to anyone who attacks you."

But she had been valuable to Palpatine, hadn't she? She put that question aside to deal with later.

Luke's hand squeezed her shoulder. "We have to get Korora to safety before we go to Byss."

Her spine locked as she looked up at him. She was going to Byss and that pretender would learn why impersonating Palpatine to force her to do anything was his worst mistake. "Agreed on Korora, but you weren't invited, and the last thing I want is another C'baoth on Jomark situation." Her eyes narrowed as she remembered that bit of foolish leniency.

Luke winced. "C'baoth was mentally ill. We had to help him first."

"He attacked me and then you. He never wanted help. And Wayland would have been so much simpler without him throwing rocks at us."

Karrde sighed from the comm. "What or who is Korora?"

"A little girl we rescued," Luke said. "And this is not the same as Jomark. He attacked you and his forces attacked Coruscant. So yes, I'm going with you to Byss after we equip at Karrde's base. Unless you have a Force pike on board already."

She reached for the nav computer controls. "Fine, getting the coordinates to Hijarna." She finished the query and her danger sense flared.

Luke glanced at the viewport and his alarm joined hers. "Fierfek, what is that?"

She turned. A vortex of energy that she had never seen in all her years of piloting and it was coming straight for her ship. She didn't even need to stretch out her meager Force senses to feel its utter wrongness. Luke pivoted out of her way as she scrambled for the pilot's seat. "I have a bad feeling about this," she muttered under her breath. But this she could focus on, their safety depended on it.

"What's wrong?" Karrde demanded.

"A storm in the Force," Luke answered as he strapped in. "It looks like hyperspace has made a whirlwind and it's heading straight toward us."

The energy swirl did look like the mottled starlines of hyperspace. Mara shifted the _Escape_ to the left and the storm matched the movement and accelerated. "I can't evade the storm!"

"It's powered by the Dark Side, steered by the Dark Side," Luke said.

"Hit it with something you got, Jedi!" Mara snapped as she dove. The maneuver didn't fool the storm and it lunged after them. She knew he didn't have anything to fight this with in all his Jedi tricks. You'd have to be insane to think up this attack in the first place.

The mouth of the storm closed around the ship. This was no smooth transition into hyperspace; the freighter lurched and spun. The power blinked rapidly and she heard the comm unit sputter and disconnect. She cut the subspace engines but only using the thrusters didn't stabilize the tumble. She focused on the control panels and tried to ignore the throbbing of the energy surrounding them. It felt like the entire universe had become enraged and it was all squeezing down on her. It was a relief to pass out from it.

* * *

Mara forced her eyes open with a groan. Normal space filled the viewport and the power that had felt like Vader on a bad day had dissipated. "Never taking that hyperspace route again. Skywalker, you alive back there?" She heard Korora crying back in the lounge.

"Yeah," came out with a groan. "The nav computer is working on where we ended up. You got anything on visual that can be an astrogation reference point?"

Her visual scan didn't match the sensors. Had the trip through the storm messed up the ship? "We're under gravitational influence."

"Planet or star?"

"Neither. Based on the sensors, I'd say it was a ship's tractor beam, but I don't see that either." The transponder pinged that another ship was in the vicinity. "Super Star Destroyer _Eclipse_ ," she craned her neck to look at all angles of the viewport. "Where the hell is it? Cloaking blocks transponder codes, right?"

"Right." He took a deep breath. "Something is out there. Stretch out with the Force; you can feel their life signatures."

A black mass shifted between her view of the stars and interstellar gases and her eyes locked onto the row of lights that were not stars but viewports. From that she outlined the black-hulled ship. It was shaped like a Star Destroyer, but the bow extended down to create a wedge rather than the point of the Star Destroyer versions she was used to. Was that meant for ramming? And the size of it, what ship really needed to be that massive? "Kriff me," she muttered.

Luke undid his crash restraints and moved behind her seat. Mara traced the outline of the ship before they lost the helpful lighted viewports. The underside hull lacked them, which made sense if you planned to take a ship into atmosphere. She doubted there was a spaceport facility in the galaxy that could handle this Super Star Destroyer. He exhaled with not quite a whistle as he tracked her finger. "It's shorter than the _Executor_ but not by much. Definitely bigger in volume. Can you break out of the tractor beam?"

"Like the stunt that left you stranded in a busted X-wing?"

"No, I was hoping you knew a better stunt." They stared at the looming black-plated hull blocking out the stars. "Got any smuggling compartments?"

"Not big enough for people. This ship's primary function was to look legit to New Republic bureaucrats."

The comm unit cackled. "YT-1760 freighter named _Jade's Escape_ , this is the Imperial Super Star Destroyer _Eclipse_." The male voice was young but professionally detached. "Keep your engines powered down and prepare for docking. The three Force sensitives on board will surrender in the name of the Emperor Reborn and be accounted for after docking. Be prepared for the entire crew to disembark once docking procedures are complete." The comm unit clicked off.

Mara undid her restraints and twisted in her seat to look up at Luke. "How can they tell that?"

"There's two Force users on board the _Eclipse_. One is Dark, the second not as much." His gaze was on the Imperial ship, but his mind was churning through what he knew of Star Destroyer layouts and how best to fight and sabotage.

She felt regret that she had delayed their escape with her display of weakness. "My choices apparently don't mean a damn thing to someone."

Behind her pilot's seat, Luke's presence tensed as his resolve solidified. "You stay here in the cockpit and take off as soon an I disable the tractor beam."

The idea of leaving him behind for certain death propelled her out of the pilot's seat and she whirled to face him. "That's a suicide mission!"

He continued looking out the viewport. "It's highly likely they won't kill me. A Jedi Knight is worth an Emperor's Hand."

"That was the deluded twit Anor's plan. You can't risk it."

His blue eyes shifted to her face and the fortitude she felt in their bond was reflected there. "Your choices matter to me. I'll see that you always have the option to make them."

His reasoning took her breath away. He looked back at the viewport with a blush spreading across his cheeks. She was feeling echoes of Wayland and knew his sacrifice on her behalf was unmerited. There had to be another way. Extrapolating what she knew of the _Executor_ 's crew and troop allotments, it equaled far too many opponents for him to reach any tractor beam controls. That left subterfuge to get them all through this alive. The easiest way to accomplish that would be to convince the underlings they'd step on the Emperor Reborn's toes by taking initiative. Worse case scenario, they'd end up in an audience with the Palpatine pretender on Byss. But escape from a planet was easier than escaping a capital warship, even if they had succeeded before on the _Chimera_. "Farmboy, surrender to me."

"I've been yours since Myrkr." What did his Jedi-addled brain mean by that! The bond didn't illuminate it for her with his focus on fighting to free them. "Unless you have a disguise kit on board, I don't see how that helps us now," he continued.

"Just renew it, all right," she snapped. "Those Force users on the _Eclipse_ must believe you are my prisoner if they give us any mental scans."

He looked at her now, confusion creating aspiration. "Fine, Mara, I surrender to you. Again. What will you have the prisoner do?"

"Walk off this ship in restraints and not give the Imperials any sarcasm."

His lips stretched into a broad grin and amusement wiped away the traces of his fight brainstorm. "But giving Imperials lip is ninety percent of the fun of tangling with them."

She brushed past him to the door of the cockpit. "I'd rather you just say it's a bad plan than laugh at it." She jerked open the storage compartment of weapons, chose her favorite blaster pistol, and buckled the holster to her thigh.

"It's not a bad plan. Don't worry, I'll cooperate." He sat in the comm chair and caught the set of wrist restraints she tossed his way. "Should I ask why you packed restraints?"

"I had to deal with Clyngunn's people and wanted to be prepared." She moved back to the pilot's seat and frowned at the lighted launch bay that the _Jade's Escape_ was aligning underneath. "Erase all the—"

"I already dumped the nav computer's search results. Standard tacit when a Star Destroyer pulls out the tractor beams. They won't find Karrde's people through that." He stood up to better see the interior of the launch bay as they passed the atmosphere shielding. "They've assembled quite the welcoming party."

Mara scowled. "That's a full company of stormtroopers facing us in formation."

"And more ringing the bay."

The ship slowly spun without Mara's hand on the stick. "And a couple of show-off Force users." She hit the landing gear controls and stood up. "Best not to keep them waiting." She pulled on the Force to calm herself. This charade could explode spectacularly.

Luke followed her through the cabin, sending reassurance through their bond and still feeling so damn amused as he closed one of the restraints around his wrist. "You can do this, better than Han can bluff."

They reached the lounge as the ship settled on its landing struts. Artoo beeped worried and alarmed as he moved to intercept Luke. Korora reached out for someone to hold her. "It's bad. The ship wasn't supposed to do that. Did the men with blasters find us?"

Mara reached down and unfastened the crash restraint. Korora wrapped her arms around her neck and blotted her wet face on her tunic. But the child didn't wrap her legs around Mara's waist, so Mara was able to balance her on the left hip instead. Much better range of motion this way. "Imperials have caught us. Just stay quiet and let the adults do the talking, okay?" Korora nodded as she hid her face against Mara's shoulder.

Luke waited in the galley, making sure his still annoyed droid and then Mara got over the flaw in the deck plating. She hoped a stormtrooper tripped over it and knocked themselves out. "Artoo, act like you belong to Mara." She was sure that emphatic refusal from the droid was coupled with the Binary for her or Luke to go fry their circuits but she wasn't sure which one of them. Luke fixed Artoo with a pointed stare. "If the Imperials realize what your designation is, they will slag you. So go along with it."

Mara caught his arm and awkwardly brought the restraints up to his free wrist. "Promise me you will not do anything stupid, like facing down three droideka alone."

"I don't know why everyone thinks I'm a reckless maverick. I can follow orders."

"Must be from your holodramas." She closed it and glanced up at his face. "Promise me."

His fingers curled around hers. "I promise."

She nodded her head jerkily before hitting the entry ramp controls. He waited until the ramp finished lowering before stepping out with a serene expression. She pulled out the blaster, followed him down, and Artoo tried to run over her heels. Two men stood at the front of the stormtroopers dressed in civilian tunics and trousers. Both were pale skinned humans, but the one with black hair styled into spikes smirked faintly. The show-off, she figured, and felt that the Force was dark around him. The white haired one only projected curiosity about them. Luke stopped so she could prod him down the ramp. "I am the Emperor's Hand. Luke Skywalker is my prisoner and I will present him alive to the Emperor." They stopped in front of the other Force users. "Am I correct in assuming you are my ride to Byss?"

The black-haired man pressed his hand to his chest. "I am Executor Sedriss. This is Solusar, and we are both adepts of Darth Sidious."

Luke didn't telepathically articulate the question he shared with Mara through the bond. She answered, _Never heard of him. Must be another apprentice, like Vader._

"We are returning to Byss. Your weapons are not needed on board the _Eclipse_." A stormtrooper slung his blaster rifle behind his shoulder and moved to Mara's side. "We have secure facilities for Skywalker." Mara narrowed her eyes even more at Sedriss. "You shall make your presentation to the Emperor Reborn, but he must be contained for the safety of us all. I'll handle it personally. Solusar, see to the Hand's quarters." Sedriss didn't wait for an answer and ushered Luke forward. The majority of the company surrounded the two men as they headed to the doors out of the bay.

Solusar stepped forward. "Your weapons, Hand. All of them"

Mara handed the stormtrooper her blaster pistol before reaching for the lightsaber. He passed it to another one so his hands were free when she extended her right arm. "Under the sleeve," she said.

The stormtrooper found her holdout blaster and two others fell into step behind Artoo as their group followed out of the bay. The path took them down a corridor, up a turbolift, and down another corridor; all looked the same as every other Imperial star ship she had been on. Solusar opened a door and led them inside an officer's suite office. The stormtroopers waited in the corridor. She turned and observed the details of the room and the open doorway to the bedroom beyond, standard Imperial issue to the eye, but she felt the same buzzing that had filled Anor's playroom until she split apart the cage Luke had been in. She didn't see a cage like that here.

"I hope everything is to your liking, Hand," Solusar said. "We house the initiates on another level. I'll take the girl there now and leave you to rest."

Korora's arms tightened around Mara as she gripped Mara's tunic and whimpered. Mara found her own arm flexing to pull the girl closer and away from the Adept. He didn't pulse with Dark power like Sedriss, but held pain around himself like a shield. Initiates, is that what they called stolen children to be raised to be killers and lied to about their purpose? Was that the future Anor had purchased Korora for? There had been so many times Mara missed Imperial efficiency, especially while dealing with the New Republic bureaucrats, but at least they let children be children. Korora deserved a better fate than that even if she didn't have anyone to be stolen from, except for Mara and Luke. Mara was the worst maternal choice in the galaxy, but this fate she could protect Korora from. If that made her a mother, so be it. "The Emperor Reborn will decide my daughter's fate, so she'll stay with me until then. We will need our personal effects off the _Jade's Escape_."

Solusar bowed. "I will see that they are delivered to you. If you need anything else, just use the comm unit." He waved a hand at the desk. "A steward has been assigned for your personal needs." He left the room. She saw the stormtroopers did not follow him before the door slid shut.

As soon as the door slid shut, Artoo whirled around and circled Mara with an unceasing tirade of whistles and beeps.

"Artoo's mad," Korora said as she looked down at the droid.

"I'm beginning to think that's his default state," Mara said.

Artoo squealed, apparently determined to prove that he could get angrier.

"And he better be sure there are no listening devices in these rooms before telling the Imperials secrets he shouldn't."

The droid paused his chatter to pop a sensor dish out of his dome and rotate around the office again. He retracted it with another angry bleet. They weren't being spied on if he was going to start again.

"Enough." Mara extended her hand to Artoo's blue and silver dome. The droid scooted back before she touched. "That was the only way I could think of to keep him alive. All Luke could think of was fighting. He wanted to fight his way to a tractor beam control so we could get away. You saw how many stormtroopers were waiting for us, plus two Force users. Calculate his odds of even accomplishing that goal, much less staying alive after."

Artoo moaned as he rocked.

"There's a dataport in the desk. Slice in and find out where he is." The droid spun around and rolled toward the desk.

"I don't like it here," Korora said. "Let's get Daddy and go to the green grass and falling water place."

"They won't let us get him." Korora's bloodshot brown eyes widened at Mara's pronouncement. "He's okay; I can feel that he's okay." Even though the buzzing made her head pound, she still felt Luke at the other end of the bond. She couldn't make out his emotional state, but he was probably calling upon his Jedi stoicism to get him through imprisonment. "He's alive."

Artoo moaned as his computer interface arm rotated. Then he gave an angry blat and turned on the terminal.

Mara sighed and packed Korora around the desk. The images on the terminal choked her and she wished she had deposited the girl in an armchair on the other side of the room. Artoo had found a security feed into Luke's cell. Mara sank into the chair for the desk and moved Korora to her lap. The spherical room contained a whole body restraint system the likes she had never seen before. Luke's arms and legs were held extended by boot-shaped cuffs and manacles that covered his entire forearm. Another manacle circled his waist connected to a separate servo than the arms and legs; was it all intended to rip a humanoid apart? A helmet that engulfed his entire head slid down into place along with curved metal pieces holding his shoulders in place. Sedriss looked over the control station a humanoid shaped droid was attached to and nodded his approval. Then he left the recorder's view. The whole contraption moved, lifting Luke into the air.

"They put him in a box, Mommy!"

A sed-box would have been kinder, Mara thought. The restraints and attached servos and wires moved to the center of the sphere, holding Luke next to the droid and above some kind of field generator. A blue glow shimmered under Luke's feet and the wires floated in the air. The droid manipulated the controls and Luke was spun through the zero-g field before returned right-side up. Not that it felt like that to him with a sensory deprivation helmet on.

"He's alive," she said aloud, ignoring how her eyes pricked. She hadn't thought they'd restrain him like this. She closed her eyes and groped along the bond. _Luke, I'm sorry. I thought it was just a normal cell._ A throbbing headache pushed her back to herself before Luke responded.

She gasped as she wrenched her eyes open. "Damn, we can't talk, not with the buzzing."

Artoo beeped a question at her. She didn't know what he said, but took a stab at explaining. "They have something in these rooms making it harder to use the Force. Probably around Luke too."

Korora curled up on Mara's lap and grabbed a fistful of her tunic to keep balance. "What's gonna happen to Daddy?"

Right, must not panic the child. That was probably a rule somewhere. She could do that, nothing different from pretending for spying. "They'll let him out when we reach Byss, but right now, Artoo, keep a watch on his vitals and we're going to see if we can comb your hair now." She turned the terminal off and set Korora on the floor. And hopefully Luke felt her apology.

* * *

Why is Luke so amused? He's remembering his last trip to see an Emperor.

And since you're reading this here instead of AO3 or my website the BookWorm's Library, you miss the picture I found of Luke and Vader's arrival at the Death Star hangar bay: Luke stride out of the shuttle with his hands in restraints and Vader ducking to get out behind him. Apparently the scene was cut out of the final film for pacing reasons, which I can agree with and still mourn the loss of Darth Vader ducking out of a Lambda shuttle.

Back to Luke, that whole experience didn't go the way he thought it would (keep 'em distracted long enough for the Fleet to blow up the Death Star and die setting the galaxy free) and more importantly, it didn't go how Palpatine thought it would either (I take out the Rebellion and get a shiny new apprentice or make due with a more broken Vader for a few more years). And this is Mara's area of expertise, they stand a much better chance of winning.


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

Luke's chin itched as the stubble brushed against the helmet still locked around his head. He concentrated on the sensation to keep his mind from cartwheeling in the zero-g field he floated in against the restraints. His only other choices of focus was the headache caused by the buzzing surrounding the entire cell or the bond with Mara. Meditation hadn't stopped the anxiety building in him the longer he stayed restrained like this and the buzzing breaking his access to the Force. He fell onto the bond to remember that Mara was safe on the other end and she was keeping Korora and Artoo safe by pretending to be the Emperor's loyal Hand. The bond had felt like she had her arms wrapped around him.

That he felt reasonably sure was some sort of hallucination; Mara Jade didn't give hugs, unless you were a small child launching yourself into one. As much as Mara innerly flailed about it, she hadn't stop showing Korora affection. He didn't worry about the two of them alone for this long; Mara thrived under pressure.

The waste elimination tubes retracted and metal fingers adjusted Luke's trousers back into place. This was a new development. He had no way of knowing how long it had been attached to him. Gravity returned at the same time as the restraints opened and the helmet lifted from his head. He tipped forward, slamming his eyes shut against the light, and landed on his hands and knees against a flat metal floor. The buzzing felt closer and louder, but maybe that was just due to his ears being uncovered. Sedriss' voice sounded uncomfortably loud. "Still with us, Skywalker?"

"Yes," Luke said as he blinked at the familiar floor. He turned his head and saw the curved bars between him and the two adepts. Great, just what he wanted to see. He sighed and sat back on his heels, facing the two men on the other side of the cage. "Are we there yet?"

"We've reached Byss," the white-haired man answered. Luke considered him; Solusar was the name given to Mara in the hangar bay.

Sedriss glared at them both. "This isn't a social call, Solusar. Let him save his questions for our master." He worked a control in his hand and the cage lifted higher off the floor and floated through the door of the cell. The two adepts flanked the spherical cage as they headed down the corridor to the security station between the cells and the turbolift.

"I can walk," Luke said. Actually it would feel good to work his muscles against gravity again.

"But you aren't going to," Sedriss said. "We're taking no chances on you escaping."

Luke scratched his chin. "If I'm meeting with someone important, can I have a chance to clean up?"

"No time for that." Sedriss sounded gleeful about denying Luke a razor as they entered the turbolift. "I thought all you Jedi wore beards."

"Not all of them. I imagine it would've been too hard for the women even with the Force."

Solusar snorted. Sedriss scowled at him and Luke. "We'll see just how amusing you are after your audience with Darth Sidious." He used the Force to press the turbolift's control.

Luke adjusted his legs to sit cross-legged on the floor of the cage. The turbolift opened into a docking bay and they parked the cage inside a Lambda-class shuttle's rear compartment between the bucket passenger seats that the adepts strapped into. He lacked a sight line to the cockpit's viewport, but it was obvious that the _Eclipse_ was too massive to descend into the atmosphere of Byss.

He recognized when the shuttle hit the atmosphere, but felt the buffeting of something more than wind. Suffering and misery on a scale that dwarfed what he had felt at Jabba's Palace. He glanced at his guards. Solusar looked resigned, gazing at the cockpit. Sedriss looked serene as his eyes dropped shut. It occurred to him that when Mara called Byss a resort, one of them should have asked what kind of resort would a Sith lord build.

"If you stand up now, you will see it," Solusar said after Luke bolstered his mental shields against the pain.

"See what?" Luke asked.

"Shavit, Solusar. He's a prisoner, not an honored guest."

"You don't think the Emperor's Citadel is awe-inspiring? Better not let our Master hear that."

Luke stood up to spite Sedriss' sneer. A spindly red and black tower capped with a massive dome rose above the other city towers rising from the planet's surface. "It looks like Cloud City on Bespin from this angle." It wasn't as high in the atmosphere as that repulsor-lifted city, but enough to strike a familiar chord. It also reminded him of a vaporator mushroom.

"And its cells will be your home," Sedriss said. "If you live that long."

"Somehow I doubt that's your decision." Luke sat down cross-legged again while Sedriss scowled.

The shuttle landed inside a docking bay. Two more guards waited for their procession down the gangplank. They were dressed similar to the Imperial Royal Guards Luke had seen briefly on the second Death Star only instead of the swathing red robe and helmet; the front piece of their helmets were black, they wore a black breastplate and gauntlets over a crimson red body glove, and a black cape descended from their shoulders. They carried a double vibroblade instead of the force pikes. One led the way through the corridors and the second took the rear, leaving the two adepts to flank Luke's cage.

He felt Mara's bright presence and sensed the length of the bond growing shorter between them no matter what turns the corridors took. That had to be a positive sign if they were taking him to Darth Sidious, Emperor Reborn, or whatever their leader's name was. She was in audience with him and not locked up somewhere in this Citadel. Revulsion slammed into him followed sharply by panic. Resolve as strong as durasteel smashed that panic down. _Mara? What's wrong?_ He projected, but the only answer he got was an increased throb in his headache.

The corridor finally ended in a metal-lined throne room that sparked Luke's memories again. The guards in red and black stopped and flanked the door. They parked the cage between two massive viewscreens that had been programmed with a view of outside the tower. A staircase ascended to a platform with a pair of duty posts before a few more steps up to the dais. The throne was a replica of the one he had seen on the Death Star. It even had its back to the room so the occupant could look out of the only real window. The sky was beginning to streak with the reds and oranges of sunset. Mara was close by, in an adjacent room probably since he didn't see her. She was calm again and he needed to stay focused on what here alarmed her so badly.

The throne slowly turned revealing the same image from his nightmares of the past: a hooded robe, the heavy wrinkles carved into pasty flesh peering out of the shadows, and yellow eyes gleaming at him. Luke steeled himself against reeling. "Adepts, release him and remove that device from my presence. I will send for you when I have need of you." Even the voice was the same! How was this possible? He felt Palpatine die in the Force. The Dark Side energy had blown back out of the shaft on the second Death Star. Palpatine died.

Sedriss and Solusar bowed at the waist and spoke in unison. "Yes, Master." The restraint bars in front of Luke slid apart vertically as he climbed to his feet and stepped out of the cage. His throbbing headache eased as the cage retreated behind his back, but he kept his gaze on the replica of Palpatine before him. The same icy hate he last felt at the Death Star was here, pouring from that figure, who had a corporeal heartbeat and respiration.

Palpatine chuckled dryly. "So young Skywalker, you were mistaken about seeing the end of me."

Luke filled himself with the calm of the Force. "My father was very good at killing people. I suppose you are very bad at dying, your Highness."

The icy hate combusted into rage, but the cowled head only frowned. "You will suffer for your insolence, Jedi. Suffer until you join us for sheer relief." Palpatine's rage abated but still pulsed. "How long will you withstand torture? Do you have your sister's stamina?"

Luke clenched his fists, but a door behind him slid open before he rebuked this Emperor Reborn. "Please, Master, don't torture him," Mara said. "He's more useful in one piece." She stopped next to Luke with Korora balanced on her hip again. The girl cringed against Mara. He couldn't read any strong emotion from Mara, even through the bond. Maybe she intended on not being a distraction for his concentration or protection against Palpatine's retaliation, but all it did was add to his growing disquiet.

"Have you forgotten your place, my Hand?" Palpatine's voice dripped with venom.

She tightened her grip on Korora as she dipped her upper body forward. "But Master, you taught me to never waste a resource. Skywalker is more useful as a Jedi. He can heal. Your plan," she tensed mentioning that and Luke's unease grew. "Doctor Akura has doubts that science can accomplish what you want. Even I felt that from him."

Palpatine further banked his rage and waved his hand. "Doctor Akura does not understand what the Force can accomplish. He should look on this as a way to expand his knowledge."

"Master, neither you nor Lord Vader ever healed me. Skywalker has."

After they had gotten safely away from Wayland, Luke had put her into a healing trance on the way back to Coruscant. And he buried that memory deep since he had no idea how much this Palpatine knew about the Wayland operation. He glanced at her while keeping Palpatine in view. What was this plan that could hurt her? His stomach churned. Palpatine had already ordered her to do what? She said she had orders after that Force attack disguised as a message, but he had thought it was just summons to come here. He breathed through flared nostrils.

"Then you know how. You have been learning from him."

"He hasn't taught me the healing technique. And even if I could figure it out, he's more powerful than I am." No, they hadn't covered healing yet. Luke had figured they had time to ease into that one.

Palpatine's eyes narrowed, but his voice only held a gentle curiosity. "My Hand, why are you so insistent on Skywalker's involvement?"

"Because I want to live!" Her voice rose and she swallowed hard as she curled tighter around Korora and kept her gaze on the floor. Luke glared at Palpatine. What had he told her to do that threatened her life?

Luke wished they had started healing lessons. Anything to lessen the panic in her voice. He had only helped her heal once from the aftereffects of Force lightning. He had healed himself more, but he wasn't a medic. What if it was something—he cut off that thought with determination. He'd find a way to save her no matter what.

"No other reason?" He sounded aggrieved. "I must compete for your loyalty now?"

"There is no competition, Master." Luke felt Mara's inner sincerity match the sincerity in her voice.

"But you will give him a chance to spoil the results of your task."

Luke caught her flash of lingering irritation over sparing C'baoth only to kill him later. "Master, you would not believe how seriously he takes that sanctity of life tenet. I'd worry about sabotage from anyone else on this planet before him."

Palpatine tilted his head as he studied them both. Luke continued strengthening the mental shielding Mara had taught him and impassively matched that yellow-eyed gaze. Mara's plan was to be the Emperor's Hand and woe to anyone who tampered with her agenda, but he had a bad feeling—a dizzying hollowing return of the Death Star grabbing hold of them bad—that Palpatine had increased the sabacc stakes. Still, Luke was not about to open his mouth or mind and crash her strategy right now. Palpatine finally shrugged minutely. "It is a small thing to ask for. And you have never asked for anything but the tools necessary to complete your task." His voice grew more authoritative. "Very well, Skywalker will be your medic for as long as you need one and he behaves himself."

Mara bent slightly, holding onto Korora with both hands not to drop her. "Thank you, Master."

"Now, change your attire and perform for the Court." Palpatine leaned back on his black curved throne.

"As you wish, Master." She turned to Luke and passed Korora to him. "Make yourself useful." Korora wrapped her arms around his neck and he balanced her against his chest. Mara pivoted away and hurried to a doorway beside the false-window viewscreen on the right of the throne room.

Luke rubbed Korora's back as she hid her face against his neck. Her heart hammered away with her fear, though it was easing now that she knew he was here and okay. The mess of her black hair had been smoothed and gathered so her curls made a puff on top of her head.

Palpatine pressed a button on the armrest of his throne. "Executor Sedriss, Skywalker will be living with my Hand and her daughter. Make the necessary changes to the Hand's suite to accommodate and contain him."

"I'll begin immediately, Master."

He cut off the voice-only comm and pointed to the stairs. "Seat yourself for the performance, young Skywalker. My Hand is most eager to display her talents once again. You and your rebellion have not appreciated her gifts." Luke chose the bottom-most corner on Palpatine's left and angled his body to ease his neck as he watched the aged man. Never take your attention off a predator, and Palpatine was worse than any womp rat. There was room enough between him and the guardrail for Korora. She twisted out of his lap to stand on the step and keep Luke's left arm wrapped around her. "How odd that my Hand's daughter doesn't have more in common with her mother." Palpatine said conversationally as if he hadn't threatened Luke minutes before. "My Hand sparked with energy at her age."

"It's been a long trip," Luke said carefully. He was flashing back to Palpatine cordially inviting him to the viewport beside his throne to better see the destruction of the Rebel Alliance fleet. "Korora's probably just overawed by everything." He suspected it was far more likely that Mara coaxed the girl into staying quiet in Palpatine's presence and his presence was keeping her crowed.

"Yes, the child is most likely unaccustomed to any luxuries being raised among the riffraff my Hand has been reduced to associating with. Your father was much the same when he first arrived on Coruscant."

"Coruscant still doesn't realize the wealth their planet has." Luke refused to be baited with reminisces about Anakin Skywalker that he had no way of possibly verifying.

"Did you have a pet as a child, young Skywalker? Was that something your aunt and uncle could afford to give you?"

Why did he want to know about that? Luke could play the small talk game, even if Leia always said he spoke a truth that was impolite for the time and place at some point during the event. "My friends had pets. I was more interested in flying than animals."

"My Hand wanted a pet. How old was she, nine, ten? She never asked for one, but she did yearn for one for a while. I would have given her one had she dared ask for it."

And probably made her kill it in a loyalty test later, Luke thought to himself. What had he forced Mara to agree to now? Luke's prosthetic hand clenched into a fist again.

Palpatine chuckled. "Perhaps if I had surprised her with a pet, she would not have asked for you."

Luke bit down his automatic desire to retort to any oblique references of sentients owning another sentient. Mara's return aided via distraction. She had loosened her red-gold hair from its braid and it cascaded around her shoulders. The gray flight suit she wore before had been traded for the shortest green gown Luke had ever seen on her. The collar fit around her slender neck like a choker leaving her shoulders and arms bare. The main portion of the bodice formed a green diamond covering her breasts and navel before connecting with the green skirt at the top of her hips. The side panels of the bodice were made of a translucent material that only existed to give the illusion that the sequins were on her skin. The skirt skimmed her hips and legs and ended in a ruffle at her mid-thigh. The dress Mara had worn to the opera hadn't shown as much of her pale skin as this outfit did. Suggested rather than exposed, that's what she had called it.

But the color. Mara often wore green and it made her green eyes more luminous. He had never considered that it was a habit formed because Palpatine preferred to see her in it. No wonder she had been so quick to quip about his wardrobe choices.

"I must apologize for only having recorded music, my Hand," Palpatine said. "Our focus here on Byss has not been on the arts as of late. Time enough for it later, once the galaxy has been put right." He pressed a control on his armrest and string and woodwind instruments from unseen speakers filled the throne room with an ominous throb.

Mara moved and Luke's eyes widened in appreciation. He knew she had superb muscle control from their sparring sessions and watching her fight, but he never saw her use it like this. She twirled with the dark tones of the music, moving faster and adding leaps as the tempo increased. The dress left her back bare save for a few straps crossing it. A crescendo was reached and the deeper beat ended and she paused her entire body into a back-arching bend while the silence stretched. His hands twitched to glide along her curves.

Lighter strings changed the song and Mara slipped into delicate movements of just her feet to the notes made by a keyboard instrument. The movement built into other parts of her body as the strings' melody grew stronger. He wished he had the talent to move with her like that. Her delight in her effort sparkled along their bond. The only place he could move synchronously with her and not make a stumbling fool of himself and her was—he broke that thought off viciously only for it to be replaced with her predatory grin from Anor's windowless torture chamber. That didn't deter his desire at all. It was no big surprise, was it, falling for Mara Jade? She was so happy right now. What chance did he have with a woman so tenacious and graceful and beautiful and happy to be his friend?

Korora leaned against his leg to get a better view of Mara. Her face was a study of delight. What was wrong with him? Mara was literally dancing for their lives right now, and whatever else Palpatine was forcing her to do was not so benign. Not if a doctor was involved and she needed a medic with her constantly. He took a deep breath, and channeled his desire into the Force. Now was the time to support his friend.

The deeper melody returned and with it Mara leaped into the air like gravity no longer had any control over her. She was pulling on the Force to sustain her stamina; how high could she go if she used it like Luke did in battle? Palpatine chuckled, and Luke tightened his mental shields, wiped any emotion from his face. "She's mine," he said in a low voice. Luke glanced up at the Emperor Reborn. "They're all mine," Palpatine added, sending a wave of possessiveness towards the population of this Citadel, the planet below, and the galaxy beyond.

Luke turned back to Mara's dance as she returned to the floor in a twirl. I saved my father from you, he thought zealously, I will save them too.

The man on the throne chuckled. "Much pride I sense in you, just like your father." Luke ignored that jab. The Force brought him here if only to serve as a beacon of Light amid all the Dark. Palpatine continued. "And how can you save those who do not desire rescue?"

By helping them save themselves, Luke thought, careful not to project it.

The deeper melody reached its crescendo and this time Mara bent forward in a deep bow as her knees bent to bring her whole body as close to the floor as she could go. The music ended and she waited in the same pose.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I don't remember Yoda, Kenobi, or Vader EVER telling Luke Palpatine's Sith title. At least in the movies (okay, Lucas hadn't thought of it yet) and Legends materials I have read. I'm assuming that Palpatine never shared that information with Mara because of his experiment with not turning her into a Sith or a Jedi. So add that to the scorecard of useful information not shared with the next generation by the previous. Luke's too nice; I think my reaction would be more like this:

Image of Adam Sadler in _the Wedding Singer_ screaming: "Once again, something that could have been brought to my attention YESTERDAY!"

Post _the Last Jedi_ note: I'm still not un-angry enough to talk coherently about that movie yet, though I do remember Disney-Luke calling out Darth Sidious. Since Ahsoka Tano lives after ROTJ, I'd say she tells Disney-Luke about the Clone Wars and Darth Sidious, but that almost makes too much damn sense for Lucasfilms not-storygroup to come up with.

Wookieepedia informs me that the Emperor's throne room on Byss was not a replica of the one on the Death Star. I say Sheev really likes the Star Wars industrial decor and puts it everywhere he can, especially on his new objects of fun and terror. My other reason is I don't have what they drew in _Dark Empire_ (nor do I really want them; the art is not my cuppa) and I have images for the Death Star one.

Mara Jade's predatory grin: Scarlett Johansson has never been one of my choices as a fan-cast for Mara Jade, but someone managed to catch an expression Natasha Romanoff and Mara Jade have in common:

Image of the Black Widow grinning at a terrorist in _Captain America: the Winter Solider_

And Luke Skywalker is the only being in the GFFA that finds that expression arousing.

P.S.: You can actually see the images if you read at AO3.


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

Mara waited for more music or acknowledgment. It had felt so good to let her body dance again, and her execution had been technically flawless. How long had it been since she last danced, Jabba's Palace? She could dance all night if she had to; the Force had eased her fatigue and she was calm and she was willing. Her opposition to everything else was buried deep in her mind along with her connection to Luke.

Luke seemed no worse from his imprisonment as far as she could discern. Had he enjoyed her performance? She gave herself a mental slap. She had to stay calm and focused on pleasing the monster who locked Luke in that awful containment unit or Luke and she would die.

"My Hand, approach," Palpatine said.

She rose from the metal floor. Luke's cheeks were flushed, but otherwise his stoic expression hid his apprehension. Korora's wonderment fled when Palpatine spoke. She scrunched her face and tucked closer into Luke's side. Mara didn't react as she climbed the metal staircase. Her dance slippers were silent on the treads. She felt Luke's eyes on her back as she crossed the security platform and reached the throne's dais. She stopped in front of the throne and knelt on one knee. The hard part continued here: keeping this Palpatine out of certain places in her mind with the tricks the original taught her to hide plans from Vader without letting him know there was any place of denied access. "Master."

"Your talents have not atrophied in your absence, my Hand," he said aloud. _You have tonight to seduce Skywalker by whatever means you deem best_ , he ordered telepathically.

"Thank you, Master. I practiced when I could." The warmth created by his sporadic praise filled her, just like it used to before Endor. It brushed against the shield hiding her anger and turned into a mass of confusion. How could she like it after she was abandoned, lied to, and now coerced? She shunted that feeling to his telepathic orders. _Seduce the Jedi?_

 _Sex is love to him, and love is his weakness that will bind him to me just like his father. I trust you have kept those skills in practice as well._

 _I have forgotten nothing._ Something deep in Mara ached. Karrde would never ask this of her. She shoved it into one of her hidden mental compartments. _I will seduce him, Master._

"Tomorrow the procedure begins." Mara felt her insides hollow out as she stared at the metal floor. "Rest well, my Hand," Palpatine said. She lowered her head more before rising to her feet. The throne room door slid open revealing two more of the Imperial Sovereign Protectors in red and black. Palpatine had not summoned them with the comm, but he addressed them as Mara descended the stairs. "Show my Hand and her entourage to her suite." Luke broke off his glare at Palpatine, picked up Korora, and joined Mara's side as they crossed the empty throne room floor.

One Protector took the lead and the second took the rear. Luke and Korora continued at her side as they walked the corridors. Luke broke the silence mentally. _Mara, what's going on?_

Her body threatened to quiver. _Not now. It's not safe and we can't upset Korora._ She as a child had Palpatine's protection that he was the only one who disciplined her. Korora had no such safeguard. _You don't know how hard it was to get her calm before._

 _Did Palpatine threaten her?_ Anger mixed with the worry in the bond

 _I didn't want to take a chance he might consider her an impediment to my performing my duties._ She curled her hands into fists at her sides to hide the tremor. _I will debrief you, just not now, when we're under guard!_

Luke glanced sharply at the Protector leading them and tightened his grip on Korora.

Her physical reactions remained under control, Palpatine remained withdrawn, Luke remained unhappy but subdued through their bond, so she peeked at the hurt that had manifested.

Karrde maintained romantic hopes, like she and Luke were characters of a holodrama. What had he told her after she woke up on the journey from Wayland? 'You harbor strong emotions for the man, Mara. Now that they're no longer of the murderous variety, there is no harm in exploring them.' But it was her choice, never an order. This Palpatine was no different from the original who had sent her to Anor instead of protecting her from him. How she felt never mattered, regardless of her devotion, service, or love.

And he dragged Luke into the middle of this loyalty display. Did he run out of Imperial officers to bribe with her sexual favors? But instead of facing a nameless body who wouldn't matter before, during, and after, he tossed her the desires of her dreams. The one man in the galaxy she wanted but only if he wanted too. He never would; the Emperor, Anor, and this Emperor Reborn made sure of that.

They were loaded into a turbolift and reached another floor two-hundred levels away before she made her decision. She would not seduce Luke. She would not beguile him with all the tricks she had been taught. She would give this Palpatine a believable scenario of how Luke refused to break Jedi celibacy with an Imperial. There was no way he could make her punishment worse because of that.

She glanced at Luke and Korora. By the Force, she better be right about that.

They turned down another corridor and the buzzing she hadn't felt since they disembarked the _Eclipse_ returned. Korora whined and pressed her head down on Luke's shoulder. "I know; I don't like it either," he said.

The Protector finally stopped and keyed open a door. Luke entered first and the locks were reengaged after Mara stepped inside. The foyer had an open closet door on the right and the door open to the refresher on the left. Luke continued through the short hallway into the larger room, stopped short, but stepped aside so Mara could enter. For a minute, all they could do was blink. Everything was contained in the one room, like a courier ship without a cockpit, and Imperial base standard decor. A kitchen the size of a galley was on the right with a small table, two chairs, and a stool set in front of the cabinets. A storage unit stood on the right. A bed just barely large enough for two adults sat in the center of the room between the doorway and the transparisteel window and their luggage bags and more clothing had been heaped on top of it. Two armchairs and a side table were pushed up against the window and a terminal console occupied the corner between the window and the wall. The astromech was already linked to it.

This suite was a calculated insult. True, she had lived in worse hovels than this while running from Isard, but this was beneath her status as the Emperor's Hand without considering stuffing Korora and Luke in here too. Just in case she was harboring any doubts about the punishment.

"This will be cozy," Luke said.

Artoo detached from the console in the corner with a happy trill. He rolled around the bed and bumped into Luke's leg. He continued to chide his human in Binary.

"Is it okay to talk now?" Korora asked over Artoo. Mara stepped up to the bed. The clothes were arranged in three distinct piles at least.

The droid paused to answer that. "Artoo says we're not under surveillance," Luke interpreted. Artoo beeped affirmatively and then began his tirade again. "Artoo, I'm fine. I'm glad to see you too, but you are fussing worse than Threepio." The droid made a sound like a human unvoiced linguolabial trill and rolled back to the console. "How long did it take us to get here?"

"Forever!" Korora flung her arms around Luke's neck and smacked her lips against his cheek. "Ow, your face is scratchy, Daddy."

"Sorry, Korora. They didn't let me shave." He set the girl down on the floor and looked at Mara.

"Four days," she answered. She picked up Korora's pile, uncovering the stuffed bantha, and carried the clothes to the closet. The rods and drawers were empty but extra blankets were stacked on the highest shelf.

"I'm hungry," Korora said.

Mara heard Luke opening the cabinets against the closet wall. "They did give us food. Can I clean my face and then cook?"

"Okay." Korora went around the bed. "My bed." She climbed onto something lower than the bed.

Luke dug his toiletries bag out of the pile of his stuff on the bed. "I won't take long and then we can eat."

She nodded at him and picked up more clothes. Now she saw Korora was on a low cot with a sleeping roll and pillow and the toy bantha. At least they didn't have to fit three people on the bed. She continued to put the clothes away while her mind focused on what he had missed during those four days. No one had told him about the bloodbath in Coruscant space. He didn't know what task the Emperor Reborn was punishing her with. She was going to start referring to him as Sidious; double vowels sounded stupid. Sidious hadn't given Luke the whole insane spiel she had gotten. She finished with the clothes but continued to stare at the open closet. Luke was going to hate this debrief and do something stupid she couldn't save him from. She felt cold and the buzzing reverberated louder closer to the main corridor. She brought her hands to her biceps to warm them with friction.

The refresher door slid open. She wasn't blocking the way into the main room, so it was fine for her to take a few minutes to figure things out before putting on a soothing face for Korora. After four days of pretending nothing was disastrously wrong, she needed more time to compose it.

"You're shivering," Luke said softly. He settled a blanket on her bare shoulders and pulled the ends around to her front. She grabbed hold of the edges to keep it on and twisted in his arms to lean against his chest. He tightened his arms around her. It felt good how the physical matched the emotional. His arms did feel like his protectiveness did.

He tucked his head down to her ear."It's bad, isn't it?"

"Later. I don't want to frighten Korora," she answered in a whisper.

"Of course." He squeezed her again before ushering her into the main room and seating her at the small table. She watched as Luke cooked and drew Korora into helping with the domestic tasks: setting the table and fetching ingredients from the slim conservator built into the cabinets. She could easily transport this scene to his quarters or to her apartment. Korora prattled about the Imperial hair stylist that finally got the knots out of her hair. He snorted as he stirred the contents of the pot. "Star Destroyers have hair stylists? As an actual position?"

"What is so funny about that?" Mara asked. "You don't want the Imperial Navy officers and crew looking scruffy when they reach their destination. Might send the wrong message."

"In the Alliance, we had to go without, find someone who made a hobby of it on base, or take a chance finding a professional who wouldn't sell you to the Imperials."

"That explains why you always looked like you needed a haircut on all your wanted notices." Mara liked this domestic simplicity that Luke generated by his presence. It had been the same way when she stayed in his guest room. She grew annoyed again. They should be on Coruscant right now doing this! But no, Sidious had to crawl out of hiding with an invasion force that he wasn't even managing properly. Not to mention his mission for her. Her mouth filled with a hot sour taste that she barely swallowed down.

"I didn't know you took my hairstyle so personally." He set down a bowl in front of her. She blinked, realized she was scowling, stopped that, and looked down at the predominantly blue sauce covering fat noodles. Korora was already shoveling it into her mouth with a spoon, so Mara's confused expression continued across the table to Luke. "Nobody gave you cheesy noodles as a child either?"

"No." She stirred it with her spoon. There were also chunks of meat and small vegetables in the mixture too. "People eat this?"

"It tastes better than a ration bar, trust me."

She did trust him and put some in her mouth. Too bad she didn't have much of an appetite to appreciate it right now. "Most of the ingredients in here are for quick meals," he explained between his own bites. "Are we allowed to make a grocery list? Or is there a mess that offers delivered meals?"

"There probably is, but nobody gave me any instructions. Make a grocery list and we'll see if anyone takes it."

"Is the buzzing getting to you?" He waved his hand in the air to indicate the room. She could feel his concern despite the buzzing. "Stuffing the neighboring rooms with those cages seems like overkill given the amount of Force users they have here."

"Force dampeners," she said at the same time Artoo whistled. "They surrounded our cabin on the _Eclipse_ with them too. Artoo said he couldn't affect them."

Artoo added more to that commentary. "Individual control rather than centralized, right," Luke said. "Keep looking for the specs anyway, Artoo."

"How many Force users did you feel?" Mara frowned. She should have paid attention to that, but this planet hurt even before they got back to the headache-inducing buzzing. "I know there are more than just those two Adepts. The white-haired one talked about meeting with the others before he got shushed." She was never special in that regard, was she? All this had been kept from her.

"It's a larger concentration of the Dark Side, much larger than what I felt on the second Death Star. The guards that brought us have some sensitivity."

"Imperial Sovereign Protectors. Upgrade everything seems to be a common theme here on Byss. Upgrade and survive." She had managed to eat half her meal, and she nudged the bowl away. "The New Republic has regrouped near or in Hutt Space. The coalition of Imperial forces sent to conquer Coruscant turned on each other instead of pressing their advantage. Sidious was laughing about it when we were brought to him. 'Whoever wins will be worthy to lead my military for a while.' "

"You were stressing useful resources," he said softly.

"I'm glad it worked." Mara glanced at Korora. The little girl had placed the bantha on the table and pillowed her head with her eyes closed. "She's asleep."

Luke picked Korora up from the stool and balanced her against his shoulder. "Do you want her in the bed with you?"

"You won't fit on that cot."

"I've slept on worse."

"Give your martyr complex a rest and give her the cot." Mara gathered the used dishes and put them in the cleaning unit.

Luke returned to the table at the same time she did and let her have the chair with the view of the doorway again. "What's going on? Why is your life on the line?"

She stared at the tabletop, gray dappled with darker gray spots. "My working theory: Force users are not meant to be cloned."

"A clone of Palpatine hidden here in case he died." Luke's chair creaked as he shifted.

"Sidious admitted to that readily enough. But before you think that makes him saner than C'baoth, he says he transferred his soul and all his power from Endor to the clone bodies."

"Bodies?"

"Apparently, he's running through them too fast. Premature aging is what his doctor called it. Maybe it's the universe's way of balancing out seemingly unending magical powers by having any clones you make from Force users end up insane. You should put that in your charter right after the no kidnapping babies rule."

Luke leaned against the table. "That explains why it felt like Palpatine in your mind, in Sidious' presence." His voice firmed. "What procedure is tomorrow?"

"Implanting a clone fetus into me so I can gestate it like a regular birth. I finally know what's really special about me, a viable uterus." She glanced up at him. His face paled under his tan and his jaw dropped. Denial screamed along the bond. She dropped her eyes back to the table. "The theory on that plan is a natural birth will anchor the clone better in the Force and stop the premature aging. Between that, decimating his military, and C'baoth's fine example, no cloning Force users."

Denial was giving way to outrage. "The whole reason cloning tanks were invented was because the process didn't work reliably in bodies!" He kept his voice low, but the anger was palpable. "He has to know that."

"Probably, but it's what he wants."

Luke's hands curled into fists on the tabletop. "Who cares what he wants. He has no right to use your body like a clone tank."

"It buys us time." That didn't cut through Luke's angry indignation. "The doctor in charge of the experiment doesn't think it will work." She focused on the tabletop again. "You can do something about complications, Sidious will believe we're neutralized and entertaining his whims, and we'll undermine his plans from here."

"A complication can kill you, Mara. One almost killed Aunt Beru when I was a kid. You should not have agreed to this."

How dare he judge her! "What choice do you think there was? Let you die, go to my execution knowing they'll raise Korora just like I was? Agreeing has us safe and together and looking for a way to blow this up in their collective faces." She jerked her thumb back towards his astromech and then regathered the blanket around herself. Her hands were shaking. The whole planet seemed to be echoing 'trapped' with her own despair. She couldn't give into that. This was a good plan, the best one of their circumstances, and she would make it work. With or without his help, she would make it work.

"Sabotage." She felt a vindictive surge from Luke over that. She understood, but her glee over destroying Sidious' plans was so far away right now. But worry soon replaced his thrill. "It's so big a risk, Mara."

"To the alternative? I don't want to die, Farmboy, and I don't want to see you executed either."

What a change in tune that was from her, but Luke didn't comment on that. "There has to be another way."

"If you spotted an escape hatch I missed, I'm open to taking it." Despair flooded over her flat quip. There was no hope of it succeeding at all if he didn't help the least bit by keeping her well during this surrogacy. The shaking had her whole body now.

She heard his chair move, but before she looked up, he pulled her out of hers and against his chest. That was better. Her hands didn't shake as they rested on his chest. "Don't," he said as pressed his cheek against her head. "I'll keep you healthy; don't worry about that." His arms tightened around her. "I'm upset with Sidious, not you. Of course I'll help burn this down."

"Just like that?"

"I trust you, Mara. This is your territory. Just don't forget you're not alone."

"Same goes for you." She eased her arms around him and squeezed.

He swallowed and she felt his throat move with it. "I'm sorry I drew attention to you and green. I didn't know the Emperor forced you to wear it."

"He never cared about what I wore; same seems to be true for Sidious. You said I was—" she broke off as her heart hammered in her chest. "I picked it for you." She tilted her head back to look up at him despite the abnormal reaction her heart was having. "I was dancing for you."

The voice that answered her was huskier than anything else she had ever heard Luke say. "I couldn't take my eyes off you." His head dipped down and his mouth enveloped hers.

The surge of lust, delight, and happiness overwhelmed all her thought processes and she tightened her grip on him. She stood on her toes as she pushed into her return kiss. This was what they had denied themselves twelve days ago on the veranda and it was going to both their heads like an aged whiskey. She wasn't sure which of them supplied a new sensory image—a gray headboard and their bodies twining together on white sheets—but it made her core pulse with want. Luke's hands found her ass and pulled her closer to his erection.

That familiar move helped the screaming in her mind cut through the haze of lust. This is what Sidious wants! She jerked her head back. "No!"

He immediately tried to release her and step back. Her arms remaining locked around his chest made it a futile gesture. The blanket cascaded to the floor. Shame colored the air and bond between them. "I'm sorry, I thought you wanted, I'm sorry."

"No, I do want!" Her hands gripped his tunic. Flushed befuddlement should not look so adorable on a person. "But Sidious wants me to seduce you, gain a much better position to kill you later. No, not you, I won't seduce you, I'm not killing you." She should let him go, but she wasn't ready to. She ducked her head to his chest.

His chest expanded with a deep inhale. "Gestate a clone, seduce me, show off your dancing skills; what else did Sidious order you to do? Kill me when my guard was sufficiently lowered?"

"He didn't order that one yet." Her voice felt like it was scraping out of her throat. "He will, it always follows, and it so damn easy to kill a person post-coitus." Her breathing shuddered. "I wasn't trying to seduce you, not you."

His warm hands settled on her bare back again. "Was there anyone for you who wasn't a target?" He ached in his voice and in the Force. "Anor's training doesn't count."

"Something real? No," she whispered. "Not everyone died, some were rewarded with me from the Emperor." Luke's anger pulsed and she cringed, but forged on. He deserved answers. "Real relationships would have compromised my service to Palpatine. I didn't question it at the time. Shavit, bad enough to create this new service to torture me, but to torture with the old?"

His anger ebbed into remorse. "Palpatine took so much from you."

And poisoned everything else, she thought bitterly. Something was squeezing her lungs and her heart continued to hammer. "Just real for once, no victims. Just once. I know I don't deserve anything, but that doesn't change the wanting." She let him go so he could pull away.

"Mara," he said softly.

And she screwed her eyes shut and waited for the inevitable of course she deserved it and would get it one day when the right person came along speech.

"Sweetheart," he added. Her eyes flew open as his hands gently tilted her head back up. She had never seen such a look of tenderness given to her. "Feel the bond. This is real." His thumb wiped away wetness on her cheek. "I love you. I want to be your choice."

The bond was complicated right now. Lust was an old familiar emotion, a tool she had used countless times. Affection was one she had gotten used to in Luke and Karrde's presences. Faith, trust, and caring were all equals parts adding up to something more, matching something in her as well, something that made her twine her arms around his neck and attack his lips again. Luke tangled his fingers into her hair to hold her there.

His hand didn't shift when he pulled his lips back. "Am I your choice, sweetheart? If we were safe on Coruscant right now or Karrde's base—"

"Yes," she breathed out. "No one but you."

They met for another kiss, too brief in her opinion when Luke pulled back again. "I want you, don't think I don't want you, but I don't want to get you in trouble before the procedure."

"I won't get into trouble." She ran her fingers into the hair coming down over his neck. His erection was pressing against her again and there were far too many layers between it and where she wanted it. "Sidious gave me permission for tonight."

"How magnanimous of him."

She was wet from the earlier revelations, but sharing his sarcasm and the face he pulled at having to be beholden to an enemy for any favor, damn, how much more tingly could she get? It didn't feel like he had any doubts, but she wanted to assuage them regardless. "There is no competition." Her fingers traced over the faint scars on his face as his eyebrows drew together. "There is no comparison." She pushed up for another kiss.

His hands trailed down her exposed back, delicate against her skin. He gripped the straps around her back and yanked them free. The sheer fabric at the sides tore but not enough judging from his growl. "How the blazes does it come off?"

She giggled against his neck because this was real and she was happy instead of having to pretend and they were taking this moment in the war for themselves. She giggled again as she stepped back from him heading for the foyer. Once out of his reach, she undid the fasteners behind her neck and let the bodice fall to her hips. He looked like she hit him with a stunner. She shimmied the dancing outfit and her remaining basic off her hips and down her legs as she backed into the 'fresher. And then Luke was there before she completely stepped out of the garments, wrapping his arms around her and lifting her up as he kissed her again.

He set her on the basin counter between the sani and the shower unit. "You are so beautiful." He peppered her neck with kisses as his hands squeezed her breasts.

"So are you, especially in blue." Her nimble fingers found the fasteners on his tunic and worked them loose. The compliment pleased him and the color was important, but less important than his mouth working back up her neck and his fingers rolling her nipples. Pleasure jolted through her and she lost track of her task.

"Just rip it open."

She shook her head and found the last fasteners. "I bought it. You are wearing it again." The last fastener parted and she ran her hands along his chest and abs as he shrugged it off. His muscles were strong and firm and trembled slightly under her touch.

He ran his hands up her thighs as he moved closer. She leaned back as his fingers found her slit and she braced herself as her hips rocked. "Mara, are you ready? Do you need more?"

His finger stroked inside of her and she managed to speak through the pleasure aiming for her brain. "Kriff me now." That withdrew his hand speedily but before she had time to realize it, his cock was sliding into her. She wrapped her legs around his bare hips. His arms wrapped around her, holding her tight as he thrust into her. She clung to his shoulders, rode the spiraling pleasure, and clamped her lips around her cries of pleasure. Luke had a better idea for muffling and kissed her to swallow her cries. She shared her climax through the bond. Luke's orgasm followed shortly and the echoes of his pleasure in the bond teetered her right over the edge again.

They propped each other up afterward while they remembered how to breathe. "Was that too rough?" Luke finally asked between pants.

"Nothing broken; you, me, or the fixtures." She indulged in running her fingers through his sweaty hair. "So it was just right." She pulled him closer and kissed his shoulder. "It was real."

He trailed his fingers up and down her spine. "This is real," he said before kissing her neck. Embarrassment grabbed hold of him, which seemed odd considering what they had just done. "You have more experience than me, and I want it to be good for you."

"You are good to me, far more than I deserve." And she was determined to enjoy it as long as it lasted. But that wasn't the answer he wanted, though his displeasure was aimed at himself. "Luke? Is this about my training?"

His fingers stilled and he tightened his embrace. "What sense memories I got from Anor's torture chamber were confusing." He kissed her on the lips before pulling back to see her face. "That's all. Do you want to shower with me?"

"Yes." That was far too eager an answer, but he grinned back at her. Still the specter of what disturbed him needed dismissing. "We don't have any of that paraphernalia here to bother you."

"It doesn't matter." He stepped back from her and realized his trousers were caught around his calves. "That's a first."

"First time in a 'fresher or first time without getting your boots off?"

"Okay, two firsts." He finished undressing before stepping over to the shower unit and turning the water on. Once he was satisfied with the water temperature, he lifted her off the basin counter, set her inside, and shut the door as he joined her. She leaned back against him and shut her eyes as the warm water cascaded over her face. He put his arms around her torso and cradled her while projecting his second-guessing of his audacity to keep touching her.

His second-guessing was tied into her earlier wrong answers. She put her hands on his holding them in place on her stomach. "I want this with you." His hands twitched. She twisted in his arms and looked up at him. "I want everything that makes this real with you." She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing against his water-slick skin. "Am I doing it wrong?"

His eyes widened and he tightened his embrace. "No! You're not doing anything wrong. I just want to make sure you're enjoying sex with me without the stuff you liked before—" Embarrassment clung to him and cut off his words.

"With Anor?"

He nodded. "I felt your memories of what you liked while he had me. Mara, if you want that—"

"The kinky games? To be honest, I never used them much after training. Some things felt good, others didn't, and it all ended up being the surest way to manipulate Anor. The deluded twit never took 'no' for an answer, so I couldn't trust him."

"And you have to trust your partner in those games."

"Right." She stretched up and brushed her lips against his. "When we get off Byss, do you want to explore what kinky games we both like together?"

"Yes," was said before she finished asking the question. He gently tilted her head back, tucking a wet lock of hair behind her ear. "I'd like that a lot." His mouth came down hard on hers, but Mara didn't care as she clung to him.


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

The corridor that ran alongside the Citadel's medcenter was filled with a mass of people. Kam Solusar remained on the outer periphery against the other wall. The other six Dark Side Elite were in the center surrounded by misshapen Byss Mages and lesser adepts. The Imperial Sovereign Protectors and their Master were the only ones not represented in the group. Projected physical pain washed over the group and a guttural moan rose unbidden from most of the mouths. Kam gritted his teeth and clenched his fists to hold in the urge to lash out. If he went straight through the wall, he could stop the flesh-cutting the disgraced Emperor's Hand was undergoing. He didn't know how she disgraced herself or why Darth Sidious had chosen this torture hidden that she was still serving their Master loyally, but her despair mingled with the pain. So she knew. He wondered who had slipped up and made her realize it.

He slipped away and none of the group noticed him leaving. He had no other duties assigned right now and he wanted as much space between him and the other adepts as possible so he wandered. He couldn't save the Hand from her fate. He couldn't save himself. Wrapped in his own familiar despair, he walked down corridors without a destination in mind. So of course he ended up in the rooms set aside as a museum of Force items. The door slid open before him and he stepped through into the dimly lit space.

Serenity washed over him as the door slid shut behind him. The pedestals circling the room illuminated the crystalline cubes resting on them. Those cubes called to him, but he resisted the urge to pick up the nearest one. All the pedestals were alarmed. Instead he moved to the long wall and looked up at the trays stacked to the ceiling. The lightsabers of various sizes and shapes gleamed. A tray had already been pulled down and set horizontal for viewing. He knew the contents of this tray well, he often looked at the lightsabers surrounding the one that always called to him. But the new lightsaber at the end caught his eye. It was predominately silver with vertical black hand-grips around the base, but the metal covering the crystal chamber was golden. Kam paused in front of it long enough for the holographic placard beside it to activate. "Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, Mara Jade" were listed.

That was odd. Not that the Emperor's Hand had disarmed the Jedi and his lightsaber ended up here with the rest of the Jedi lightsabers, but that her name was listed on it too. None of the other lightsabers listed who had retrieved them. Maybe the Master decided to change the placard format? He moved down the tray of lightsabers to the one he always ended up looking at. The metal of the hilt had been silver, but a black finish had been rubbed into it taking away the shine. Dark brown pebbled leather covered the bottom half. The emitter matrix was protected by a wider disk at one end. And even though he had never turned it on, he knew the plasma blade was amber colored.

Its placard hadn't changed, still reading "Ranik Solusar." If they had changed to list who retrieved the lightsaber from the criminal Jedi, it should list Darth Vader. He never understood how he knew, but he saw it clearly once again. The museum room vanished for deserted city street in a downpour of rain. Lightning flashed behind the black armored and caped figure illuminating him for a moment. His opponent was dressed in sodden trousers and tunic and brought up the amber beam of light to block the blow from the red. Kam clenched his fists. There was no helping the man against the black figure; he had tried before to no avail.

"Solusar," a familiar voice called out to him. It wasn't either of the combatants. "Solusar!" He fell out of the vision and back into the museum room, nearly losing his balance. Sedriss crossed his arms over his chest. "You know you're not supposed to be in here. One day, Darth Sidious will be the one to catch you and he'll kill you for your disobedience."

Kam shook off the lingering effects of the vision. "I only came in to see the Jedi's lightsaber." He waved a hand down the length of the tray.

Sedriss didn't bother looking. "Succeed in this assignment and maybe our Master will decide to gift you with one of your own."

"What is his will?"

"You've got such an easy-going manner. It'll be simple for you to indoctrinate the child under her mother and the Jedi's awareness." Sedriss headed to the doorway on the opposite side of the room from the outer corridor. Kam trailed him into the room of powerful Dark Side artifacts. "The Hand will be distracted with the implanted clone." He strolled to the wall of shelves and stared up.

"That's what the Master decided to do with her?"

"You missed the wager pool for how many times she'll go through the procedure before dying. See Nist if you want in on the credits." Sedriss lifted his hand and a small opaque box floated down to it from a shelf a meter above their heads. "You were joking with the Jedi on the trip in; he won't see you as a threat. The Force dampeners around the suite will keep him contained and blinded. If he attacks, you'll be able to fend him off. And the child will accept this pretty bauble." He passed the box to Kam.

He opened the leather-covered box. The red gem set in the gold pendent pulsed with Dark Side energy. "Give this to the little girl?"

"It will sway her to our beliefs and all they'll see is a gaudy bit of costume jewelry." Sedriss moved to the door. "Don't delay. It will not please Darth Sidious."

Kam closed the box and followed Sedriss out through the room of Jedi artifacts. The box in his hand grew heavier and unbalanced. He looked down rather expecting to see his hand dragging along the floor. It wasn't, but the weight didn't seem to ease until he stepped into the outer corridor.

The medical procedures would not distract the Hand from a strange man giving her daughter a gift. Sedriss hadn't dealt with her back on the _Eclipse_. If she came out of the medcenter conscious, she'd be suspicious. So not a gift, not really, a collection of things to keep the child occupied. If the medical was as bad as it had felt earlier, both she and the Jedi would need that for the child.

Down on a level not far from the residential section of the Citadel was space that had already been appropriated and furnished for child care and classrooms, though never used. Kam found a larger crate, one that needed both his arms to carry but he could still see over it, and filled it with a couple of datapads, educational datacards, and mostly toys. The smaller box holding the Dark Side artifact rested on the bottom.

The suite the Hand and the Jedi had been imprisoned in was not far from those child care rooms. Two Imperial Sovereign Protectors guarded the corridor, but remained well out of the reach of the Force dampeners. Kam didn't like the headache they gave off either. But feeling them wasn't the only trepidation he felt. He did not want this task. The child cringed from them all already; why hurt her more? He heaved a sigh as he stopped outside the suite door. One didn't tell Darth Sidious no. Not unless you had a sudden urge to feel how Force Lightning burned flesh.

The security droid on the door recognized Kam's authorization and opened the door for him. The little girl was giggling madly. "You're steering this ship," the Jedi's voice chided with an amused tone. "Better watch out for that asteroid." Kam reached the doorway to the main room, no the only room of the suite, and blinked as he stopped short.

The astromech droid was projecting a hologram of an asteroid field blown up to fill the corner of the room. The little girl had a mixing bowl on her head and a long ladle between her legs as she sat on the dining table chair facing the droid. She tilted the ladle and her body and the Jedi standing behind her chair leaned it in the direction she indicated. The holographic rock moved past their arms and disappeared. The droid noticed Kam's presence first with an alarmed beep and shut off the hologram.

The Jedi set the chair down on all four of its feet before turning around. The little girl was quicker. She slid off the chair and stomped between Kam and Skywalker. She scowled up at Kam. "No, you're not taking my daddy away again."

Kam stepped forward into the room. The headache was already blooming and the crate was growing heavier. "I—"

"I said no!" She thrust her finger in the air at him. "Leave my daddy alone!"

He's no longer in the prison suite, but on a ship. And he's no longer an adult, but a much smaller size. A man grabs him under his arms and swings him into the air. Kam shrieks "Daddy!" with delight as the larger hands safely catch him again. This man would never let him fall. Then everything spun around Kam again and the man older with thinning hair and sodden clothes falls back on the rain-pounded street and Darth Vader slashes the red blade down and through him.

That image faded as Kam's body collided with a hard chair. A pair of hands pushed down until Kam's head is between his knees. Kam blinked at the dark gray carpet on the floor. "No, it's not your fault, Korora. Sometimes people almost fall when they remember something they'd rather not. Just stay back with Artoo." The hands let go and Kam eased upright, blinking into the serene face of the Jedi. "You better have some water, Solusar, right?"

"Yes, Kam Solusar." He continued blinking as the rest of the room came into focus. The child, Korora, sat in one of the arm chairs against the outer wall and the astromech droid had rolled in front of her. The crate of toys sat on the table that Kam's chair was next to.

The Jedi opened the conservator built into the cabinets behind Kam and returned with a cold water bulb. "Luke Skywalker."

Kam accepted the water with a puzzled frown. "You could have attacked and escaped, why?"

"Because you obviously came here for a fight with a crate full of toys." He waved a hand at the crate on the table and then grabbed the matching chair to the table.

"And you promised Mommy to behave," Korora said.

"And I promised Mara to behave." He sat down across from Kam and gently caressed his bewildered mind with the Force. This was not the behavior Kam had been educated to expect from Jedi. He cracked open the bulb and drank. Skywalker withdrew and rubbed his temple against the headache that must have increased with that small use. "You seem to be all right now, though I don't know why we would trigger a flashback for you."

Kam's gaze dropped to the floor again. "Darth Vader killed my father." He jerked his head back up to stare at Skywalker's blue eyes. "Why did I say that. It's not true; I have no father."

"Because it's more than likely true. Everyone has a father and a mother unless you're a clone." A shadow passed over his expression, but he didn't let it linger. "And Vader killed many before; well, he even killed to return to the Light. He killed to save me."

Kam found his mouth had grown dry again. "I have no memories of my father."

"There are holes in your memories," Skywalker said softly. "Imperial interrogators can do that without the Force. There is a technique that can help."

They had all underestimated the Jedi. Here was the manipulation at last. "A Jedi technique," Kam sneered. Now Skywalker would force his way into Kam's mind and leave nothing there to call his own.

Skywalker raised his eyebrow. "Yes, I am a Jedi so logically it is a Jedi technique. But it's your choice, I won't thrust healing onto you without your consent." The shadows crossed the Jedi's face again and this time he had to screw his eyes shut and breathed out the pain. "Mara," was hardly audible.

Kam was amazed that Skywalker could sense anything outside the Force dampeners, but how quickly Skywalker composed his face again and glanced back at the dark-skinned girl made Kam realize that Skywalker did not want the child to notice. He went along with it; his confusion needed another answer. "I am your enemy, and you would heal me?"

"Are you my enemy or are you a man who has suffered under Sidious? Think about what you want." Skywalker stood up and leaned over the terminal console in the corner. "Are you in charge of our supplies? Korora and Mara need more nutritious food." He turned back and handed Kam a datapad.

There was nothing odd about the list, so Kam transferred the file to his own datapad. "I'll see what I can do."

"Daddy." Korora held up her arms.

Skywalker lifted the child that looked nothing like him and hugged her. The suspicion wormed its way from Kam's mind to freedom through his mouth. "You're not her father."

"I've been adopted. Mara didn't seem to mind."

Before Kam could process that for a suitable response, the door of the suite slid open. Doctor Akura entered first and stepped into the kitchen area to direct the medbed to transfer the occupant to the bed in the room.

"Mommy!" Korora tried to lunge out of Skywalker's arms. The Jedi juggled the child so she didn't fall, but his eyebrows drew together and his jaw tightened as he looked at the woman being lifted to the bed.

The pale woman waved an even whiter hard. All her freckles stood out of her skin like stars on a planet with no light pollution. "Just wait a minute, okay?"

Doctor Akura stepped over to the bed once the medbed retreated to the outer corridor and briskly ran a med scanner over the Hand. "Sensor readings are still optimal. Can you confirm that the procedure was a success, Jedi Skywalker?"

Skywalker's face was impassive again when everyone looked at him. He nodded and set Korora down as he crouched down next to the bed. The little girl grabbed her mother's hand. Skywalker rest his hand on the woman's abdomen and closed his eyes. "Both feel healthy, but the placenta—"

"Needs more time to adjust," Doctor Akura said. "The patient needs to remain on bed rest for the next two days. We'll re-evaluate after that point what the proper exercise level will be to insure a healthy pregnancy." He made notes on his datapad and left the suite without a farewell.

"I hate bed rest," Mara muttered.

"You look sick," Korora said with a whine of concern. "Daddy said they'd make you better." She clambered up on the bed and snuggled under Mara's arm.

Kam's breath caught as a memory fragment of being safe in a woman's arms and a lullaby in her voice jarred him. The lie from the Hand shattered the memory. "It will take some time for me to get better. We have to be patient."

"This would be easier if I had ever been pregnant." Skywalker huffed. "Artoo, pull up some human anatomy references." The droid warbled and rolled to the console.

"I think you left out something so that makes sense, Farmboy," Mara said. "And why do you have a bowl on your head, Korora?"

"It's not a bowl; it's my X-wing helmet."

Skywalker leaned over them both, pulled the bowl off Korora's head, and then brushed red-gold hair back from the Hand's face. "Don't get too close. I've got bacta breath," she said.

"We've got muja juice. That's strong enough to wash the taste out." Skywalker circled around the bed for the conservator behind Kam.

Mara's eyes tracked his movements and stopped on Kam with a startled frown. "What did you do to get a chaperon?"

"I didn't do anything," Skywalker said as he returned to her side with a juice bulb in hand. "He brought things for Korora." He waved a hand at the crate on the table.

"And I told him he couldn't put Daddy in the box again," Korora said.

"She was fierce." Skywalker confirmed.

Mara kissed the little girl's head. "I expect nothing less."

Kam's head pounded. They hadn't attacked him. She was loved. Sidious and Sedriss would take that away from her for what? To stand next to a being's suffering and feed off of it? His hands twitched in remembered pain and he heard an echo of Sedriss' mocking laughter. He stood up and pulled the crate across the table. Skywalker and the Hand watched him dig the items out, but they didn't say anything as the pile grew larger on the table.

His hand curled around the leather box. It pulsed and called to him, begging to be worn and used. He drew it out of the box.

Skywalker straightened and moved in front of the window. He stretched out his right hand and a golden glow spread between the woman and child on the bed and Kam. The dark gem laughed. It continued begging for Kam to use it shatter the shield, slay the Jedi. Kam gaped at the man. "But the Force dampeners? How powerful are you?"

"The Force is a powerful ally."

"What is that?" Mara demanded as she struggled up onto her elbow.

Kam pulled the jewelry box to his chest. "This is not for your daughter."

"I don't think it's for you either, Kam Solusar." Skywalker said softly.

The Jedi was concerned about him. Perhaps there was no machinations in his offer to heal Kam's memories. But now wasn't safe, not with this Dark Side artifact present. He ignored its screaming. "I'll see about getting you the groceries you want, without dangerous artifacts." He headed to the doorway. "May the Force be with you."

No one stopped him as he left the residential section. No one stopped him as he entered an empty hangar bay. The dark gem promised him power and glory. With its help, Kam would sit on Sidious' throne.

"That's not what I want." Kam anchored himself with the Force and triggered the controls for the hangar bay's particle and energy shield. The wind whipped into the hangar bay. He lifted the jewelry box with the Force and pushed it out the bay door. It dropped out of sight as soon as he let it go.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** What behind the scenes information is available about how Luke turned Kam back to the Light Side is insulting to Anakin's redemption. I will not write a game to win Kam's soul. And since I see falling to the Dark Side and staying there as making the deliberate choice to do evil over and over again, Kam and Anakin both have to make the deliberate choice to stop.

Ranik Solusar's lightsaber is a style available at SaberForge. Unfortunately, they don't offer an image of all the options you can pick to customize your lightsaber and my photo manipulation skills are not that good. There's the shape of it in the image, so mentally add a black brushed aging over that shiny metal.

Luke's the fun parent: Was that ever in question? Actually since I refused to read the later books of EU Legends, I have no idea what his dynamic is with Ben there.

Luke recognizes PTSD: And here's where some of my need to fix it comes in. Luke had active military duty, earned officer rank, commanded people, and had a shit-ton of innate ability in the Force. He knows full well what a flashback is and how to deal with someone having one. Another reason why he should have recognized issues Kyp was having much, much sooner. *Glares at canon.*

So while writing _Part of the Night: The One Rule_ , I found myself annoyed with too many canon characters whose name started with "B" plus I accidentally gave original characters B-names too. This story is apparently sponsored by the letter "S": Skywalker, Sidious, Sedriss, Solusar, Solo…. And co-sponsored by the letter "K."

The RPG sourcebooks don't say anything about the Greater Force Shield glowing, but I wanted a visual. Non-Force sensitives can't see it if it bothers you. Hmm, the climax might bother you a lot then. You've been warned.


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

Mara reached for the pillow stacked behind her back, but it remained out of reach. Luke hadn't noticed her twisting as he stared at the latest information Artoo had pulled up on the console. It was probably more anatomy references, like he hadn't studied them enough for the past two days. "Are you planning on earning a medic's license?"

"That's not what Artoo found." He transferred the files to a datacard and brought it to her. "A reason Sidious didn't care about losing resources."

She loaded the datacard into her datapad while he adjusted the pillow behind her back. World Devastators had succeeded on attacks on Draukyzel, Cardooine, and Nespis and the seven of them plus their escort fleet were moving to Dac. She had never heard of that class of starships before. She opened up the explanation file. They weren't ships but rather superweapons able to travel between planets, land on them, and then rip the planet apart with tractor beams. And those resources were not wasted but fed into the World Devastator's molecular furnace and factories churning out TIE fighters, battle cruisers, and more World Devastators. "Yes, that gives them plenty of hardware, but who's going to run those ships? The Separatists proved droids can't." So many had died in the six-way battle between the Imperial Ruling Council, the Moffs, the fleet commanders, the Inquisitorius, COMPNOR, and the Imperial Security Bureau.

"Thrawn showed the way. They have cloning tanks." He sat on the bed next to her hip and stared out the window at the multicolored clouds that swirled around the Citadel. "Not enough pain here; Sidious' spreading it across the galaxy." Discouragement haunted his words and the urge to oppose these massacres tugged on their bond.

She flicked through the specification data Artoo had collected to ignore how her stomach churned over the thought of another Clone War and tried not to despair over everything they had gone through on Wayland ending up futile. "He found control codes to stop the World Devastators?"

Artoo beeped at her, sarcastically admonishing her lack of faith.

"We don't have access to a computer that can send a comm signal to the World Devastators."

"We'll find one as soon as we get out of these rooms." She reached for him, sliding her hand under his arm and onto his side. The bond between them flared with desire and hope. She was relieved desire was still there after two days of nothing more than kisses and hugs.

"I'm pretty sure I can get past the security droid ." He aimed a bemused smile at her. "But I'll have to take the console apart for parts."

"Not until we have a map to the hangar bays."

Artoo moaned. Luke shook his head. "We know you're working on it. I think Sidious gets a thrill whenever people get lost so he had all the maps deleted."

She rubbed his side, not quite a scratch thanks to his tunic. Then she tilted her head at the silence in their room. "Have you heard Korora lately?"

He looked at her with wide eyes before he sprinted around the bed to the 'fresher. "Korora, no! You can't play with that. Get in the shower dryer now."

Mara shook her head, but didn't feel like pushing her body in order to back Luke's discipline. She heard the main door slide open. Artoo detached from the console and rolled forward. Solusar stopped in the doorway into the foyer with a large crate. "Feeling better?" he asked pleasantly.

"Yes, thank you. What have you brought now?" She stretched out with the Force, but the headache throbbed before she could sense if there was another Dark Side artifact hidden in the crate.

"Jedi Skywalker requested some groceries for you." He carried the box to the table.

She didn't know Luke had given him the list. And it was interesting that Solusar brought the items himself rather than foist the delivery onto a droid. "Is this the only room we're allowed in?" He turned back to her with a puzzled expression. "It's not a cell. Are we under house arrest?" Luke ushered Korora out of the 'fresher and the now dry child clambered up on the bed. "Look, Korora's going a little stir-crazy. I'm going a little stir-crazy. Where can we go walk around?"

Solusar looked at her and then Luke who ignored him in favor of unpacking the food items. "You're able to walk around?"

"Doctor Akura cleared me for light exercise. Don't you have any gyms, gardens, galleries, museums, or something up here?"

"The problem is him!" Solusar waved his hand at Luke.

Luke set the juice bulbs in the conservator and looked back at them. "I already promised to behave multiple times. I don't know what else I can do."

"Will you stay here?" Solusar asked.

"No." He grinned and held up a canister of hot chocolate mix. "She's cleared for light exercise and running after Korora is not light exercise."

"So we'll take some guards with us. Not that Luke's going to do anything." Mara pulled the blankets back and swung her legs out of the bed. By the time the groceries were unpacked, Solusar had resigned himself to the expedition. They trooped into the corridor and Solusar's authorization code kept the security droid from alarming. One of the red and black Imperial Sovereign Protectors glided into position behind them. Korora kept a firm grip on Mara's hand. Mara kept her mind to the task of adding to their map of the Citadel and she was fairly certain Luke was doing the same.

Solusar led them from the turbolifts onto a level that had to be close to Sidious' personal rooms judging by how the decor budget had been spent on thicker carpet, tapestries covering the metal walls, and chandeliers. He stopped before a set of tall doors. "I come here often, but everything inside is protected by alarms. Don't touch anything please."

Mara glanced down at Korora. "No touch," she repeated.

The doors slid open and they stepped into a museum of sorts. Fifty waist-high pedestals were arranged around the room each lighting up a metal and crystalline shape on top of it. Most of them were cubes about the right size to rest in the palm of a hand. The one in the center was a dodecahedral and raised higher than the rest, nearly chest-high. A lower display box was set in front of it, but you couldn't see the contents from the door.

Luke stepped toward the figurines but Mara found her eyes drawn to the long wall. Trays hung vertically on it and she lost count of how many lightsaber hilts were positioned in those trays. Her stomach churned. Luke had mentioned, off-handedly at one of their meals back on Coruscant, that a Jedi reached knighthood through Trials but that assembling the lightsaber was a mark of completed training to begin the Trials. This was a wall of the dead, killed in the Jedi Purge, and the only graves they were probably ever given.

"No! You can't do that!" Mara and Korora whirled around from the wall. Solusar yanked Luke's arm away from the dodecahedral figurine. "The alarms."

"It's calling out." Luke's voice sounded dazed. "Don't you hear them calling out?"

"Of course they're calling. The holocrons want to teach, but it is not allowed. Master Sidious will kill us all, even the girl."

Luke clenched his fist and turned away. Mara felt his disappointment; here was the trophies he had been searching for, the collection of Jedi knowledge that he lacked, and it was soon followed by seething over everything the Empire took and continued to take. A matching pain lanced her gut. She ignored it to look into the tray that had been pulled out from the wall. Lots of space left in this one, must have ran out of Jedi to kill since the last one was giving Solusar heart attacks and his lightsaber was inside his droid; whose was the last one collected? That was a decidedly morbid thought, but it was probably Obi-Wan Kenobi's and Luke would want to see that.

No, the last one on the tray was a familiar sleek and silver hilt. This was on par with how she felt when the door to her quarters slid open and showed her all the destruction. How dare Sidious? How dare he!

Korora balanced on her tiptoes to try to see in. "What is it, Mommy?"

"It's mine. That's what it is."

Luke's warm steady presence moved behind her and his hand felt good on her back, warming up her icy insides. Concern for her jettisoned his seething resentment. "It's all right, Mara. It's just an object."

The holographic placard displayed their names so there was no excuse for him being dense about it. "No, it's not okay. It's useful, damn it. And you gave it to me." She let go of Korora and twisted to see Luke's concerned face. "Sidious has no right to it all. You gave it to me and I want it back. I'm not—" dead was never uttered because claws twisting her insides sent her voice to a pained gasp instead. She doubled over as her vision blotted white at the edges.

* * *

Mara's face went as white as Artoo's chassis as she crumpled. Luke caught her with the Force and his arms before she hit the carpeted floor. He felt the pain she was in before he threw up a mental shield to block it down to something he could ignore. How was she still conscious with that much pain? One of her arms found its way around his neck as the other pressed into her torso.

"Mommy!"

"Korora, let Solusar carry you now." And who knew that the same tone he used to get the Rogues into battle formation would work on children. Solusar scooped the non-protesting Korora into his arms. "Medcenter now."

Solusar broke out into a run and Luke followed him. The wait in the turbolift was agonizing. He didn't dare risk a healing trance without knowing what Mara suffered from. The turbolift descended right into the medcenter lobby and a medbed was waiting. She pressed her hand on his cheek as he set her down on it. The medics whisked her out of sight through a door that the Imperial Sovereign Protector moved to guard.

"Daddy," Korora whimpered. Solusar held her out to him and Luke cuddled her when he took her, kissing her forehead and sending reassurance through the Force like he did to Jacen and Jaina when they fussed about his baby tending skills. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight. He exhaled his own heartache into the Force. She didn't need to pick up on that and add it to her own fear.

The lobby had armchairs, so he moved to one and settled Korora in his lap. She kept staring at the door. He should probably move but he wanted to watch that door too. "Are they going to make Mommy better?" she whispered.

"They're supposed to." That answer was less satisfactory for him as well, but he tried to hide it from the girl. The anatomy references he had compared to the conditions Mara and the fetus in her made it clear that the best practices for a surrogate pregnancy with a viable infant and surrogate mother were not being used. If the goal was a live birth, why were they not?

It wasn't hours before Doctor Akura came out with Mara still on the medbed, but it felt like it had been that long. She wasn't radiating pain any longer, so Luke heaved a sigh of relief. The dark-haired doctor tucked his hands into his lab coat. "She didn't lose the baby, but I'm afraid this little episode means she must stay on bed rest. Elite Solusar, you should escort them back to their rooms."

"Her body isn't accepting the fetus." Luke moved Korora to his hip and stepped in front of the medic, preventing his retreat further into the medcenter. "Why aren't you using a fertilized ovum?"

Doctor Akura narrowed his eyes. "You have a medical certification, Jedi Skywalker? I understood your medical knowledge was from the Force." He sniffed.

"I can read."

"Do tell."

"It would be better to stop this experiment." Luke bored his gaze into the man, looking for a measure of compassion. All he felt was self-serving dread from the doctor, so he didn't bother mentioning the danger to Mara's health. "Use an ovum instead so your emperor gets a naturally-birthed clone."

The doctor shook his head, glancing over his shoulder at the silent Imperial Sovereign Protector. "One does not defy the Emperor in the Citadel unless one wants to be executed. I'd like to avoid that. Maybe a death threat doesn't bother you since you're a rebel traitor."

"Life is born, lived, and then dies. That is the way of the Force. What matters is what you do with the time you have." Doctor Akura was disinterested in rebelling against Sidious and less interested in philosophical arguments. Luke couldn't keep Mara safe from this procedure. How could any medic agree to this farce? His frustration burned inside him, wanting to lash out and cut a path to safety for Mara and Korora. He stared unblinkingly at the doctor who didn't care for any life above his own. Akura stepped back from the medbed and the rebel traitor beside it.

 _Luke, stop._ He looked at Mara on the medbed. She lifted her hand. _They'll just separate us. Save it for a fight that matters._

He took hold of it and squeezed it gently. Doctor Akura sighed. "I'll look into the differences between cloning tanks and natural births and see if there's a way to improve the chances. Take them back now." He moved around Luke and the medbed and took his lies back through the door.

Solusar didn't say anything as they escorted the medbed back to their suite. Luke walked next to the medbed and almost lost Korora when she lunged down to land on Mara. The medbed beeped rudely and inserted a grasping arm between them. "Stay up there," Mara said softly. "Here, we'll hold hands. Did I scare you?"

"Yes." Korora wrapped her hand around two of Mara's fingers.

"Diplomacy is not in your future. I'm sorry I scared you." There was a sense of wonder inside Mara over her affection and concern for Korora.

The Imperial Sovereign Protector left them at the corridor junction and they continued down the corridor to the door guarded by the sentinel droid. Luke let the medbed in first and set Korora on the floor before lifting Mara out of it. Feeling her breathing in his arms did the most for reassuring his worry that she was better now. The medbed protested in Binary as Mara draped her arm over his shoulders. "Go fry your circuits," he told it. Artoo took over scolding as Luke carried her around the bed, eventually chasing the medbed out of the main door. The astromech rolled back in beeping happily.

He set Mara down on her side of the bed. "You have to be careful." She kept her hand on the back of his neck so he looked at her as he hovered over her face. "Nobody here likes you."

"Nobody?" He completed the lean down and kissed her.

Her fingers flexed against his neck as her lips parted and she drew him down deeper into that kiss. She was flushed slightly when they parted and it made her look healthier. "Present company exempted from that assessment, of course."

"Glad to hear that."

There was a scoffing noise that didn't come from Korora. Luke straightened as Mara turned her head. Solusar stood in the galley kitchen with a perplexed expression on his face. "You're supposed to get rid of the chaperon before making out," she said.

Luke's face heated. "Sorry." And he might be blushing but his gaze didn't waver.

"I thought—" Solusar broke off, turning bright red. "I thought Jedi didn't." He waved helplessly at the bed and then his scalp under his white-blond hair went red.

"We're changing the rules." Mara snickered, sharing a lusty memory through their bond that did not help bring Luke's blush back under control, and Luke looked down at her. "Not because of that," he continued, looking back up at Solusar. "But my sister will be part of the Jedi Order one day and telling her she has to end her marriage to do so? No, Leia fights mean and that's not even considering what Han will try to do to me and then Chewie. I made the decision to change that rule when they got married."

"I think I'm a little disappointed that I didn't tempt you into straying from the doctrine," Mara said with a languid stretch.

Solusar blinked. "Right, I will see if I can requisition a repulsor-chair for the next time you go stir-crazy." He bobbed before he realized he didn't need to bow and left the room.

She looked at the door thoughtfully. "I really don't know what to make of him. He brought that evil thing here but he hangs out with Jedi artifacts. And then he seems to want to help us."

"There are holes in his memory. I think they tortured him."

Korora climbed onto the bed with a datapad and the bantha in her hands, and not making much progress toward Mara. She left the datapad and crawled the rest of the way. "Are you going away like Momma? I don't want you to go away."

Mara's breath caught and Luke perched on the edge of the bed. "I'm trying hard not to go away." She sucked in a deep breath. "I'm not going to tell you bad things don't happen because you already know that's not true. Force, I'm so bad at this."

Luke caught her hand before she started flailing in her aching self-doubt. It reverberated against his own pain. "We will always be with you and make sure you're safe with people who loved us and who will love you."

 _You're lying to her!_ Mara screamed at him telepathically, her green eyes glaring at him.

 _I will lead her to a ship Artoo can fly away from here as a ghost if it comes down to that._ He reached out with his other hand and Korora seized the flesh and blood fingers. "Right now, we have to trust the Force and take care of each other until we can leave, okay?"

"We're leaving together," Mara said with the emphasis of a vow.

"Okay." Korora snuggled under Mara's arm. "Read to me?"

Luke stretched over them and brought Korora's datapad to Mara. "I'm going to try to reach Leia. We've never tried telepathy this far away before." He grimaced.

"No time like now for practice." She found the story file and began reading aloud.

He pushed the armchair closer to the console and sat cross-legged on the carpeted floor between the cot and the window. They hadn't strung Force dampeners along the outer wall, so the buzzing field quieted in this part of the room. He stretched out with the Force, searching for the taut line that connected him with his twin. _Leia? We're on Byss in the Deep Core. Leia, can you hear me? We have codes for the World Devastators. Leia._

No response.

He couldn't even sense her amid the backdrop of life the galaxy was. So he opened himself up to the Force and sank into a deeper meditation. He saw her clearly—hair bound back in a long braid and dressed in trousers and tunic with a jacket Han had bought her for when he wanted to take her slumming—but no details emerged clearly of her location. The man she faced was clear also. Talon Karrde gestured at a frame of tubes between him and Leia before Korora grabbed his shoulders.

She grinned in his face when he opened his eyes. "Mommy's hungry."

"We're both hungry," Mara corrected. "Any response?"

"Not really. I had a vision of her. But I don't know if it is happening now or will happen." He climbed to his feet. Korora put her feet on top of his and grabbed his hands.

"Do you want to describe it?"

"She was talking to Karrde. I don't know what about." He walked Korora around the bed.

Mara's hope buoyed upwards with that limited description. "That has possibilities. Karrde likes working with your sister and they saved us before when overwhelming odds were firing at us." Luke frowned at her in confusion. "The Katana Fleet."

"And Wayland." He grinned. "Think we can make the vornskrs attack Sidious?" Mara snorted. "Go ahead and laugh, but they're probably better at dodging Force Lightning now and if Sidious trips on his robe…." He trailed off as she gave a breathy laugh. "I hope Leia or Han suggests it to him."


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

The remaining day passed easily into night. Luke slumbered curled up with Mara. Sex was denied them, but Mara's condition hadn't put a stricture on cuddling and kisses. He expected her to reject his embrace every night now, but she had not. Nor had Sidious appeared with orders not to touch the experiment. Pain constricted his gut and woke him up. Mara groaned through gritted teeth as she shifted away from him. He turned on the lamp on his side of the bed. "Mara?"

"It's dead." She sucked in air. "I'm fairly certain it's dead."

He ignored the increased throbbing from the headache to extend his Force senses over her. The spark of life she had carried was gone. "He's dead." Then he saw the bright red stain on her medical trousers. "How did you cut your leg?" He grabbed the top sheet to wad against the wound.

Her amusement was cut short by another vicious cramp. _All those anatomy references didn't cover_ _ **that**_ _?_

"Sorry, I didn't think." Both sheets were stained with blood, too much blood. "Artoo, get Doctor Akura on the comm."

The droid whistled his suggestion as he rotated his dome in front of the console.

"No, we can't pretend she's still pregnant. She's hurting and a medisensor will discover the miscarriage." Luke wrapped his arms around Mara's shaking form. He didn't turn on more lights, partly to not confirm the pallor of her skin. He put his worry into suppressing her pain instead.

"Akura."

Luke climbed out of the bed and approached the console. "Skywalker. The fetus has died and Mara's cramping and losing blood. I want to put her in a healing trance to stop the bleeding."

"The substitute for a bacta tank? No, we'll have to start all her hormones levels over again. Keep her conscious until we get there."

"Wermo piholetka," Luke muttered to the inactive comm unit. Korora was still asleep on her cot and he stepped between it and the bed to kneel at Mara's side. "If I find damage to the blood vessels, I'm healing that." He set his hand on her stomach and looked into her body.

She squeezed his free hand. "No argument from me."

Luckily, he hadn't found any blood vessel damage by the time a medic escorted a medbed into the room and turned on all the lights. Mara's pallor was as bad as he feared, nearly matching the crisp white sheets on their bed. They moved Mara to the medbed and the medic didn't care how noisy she was. "I'll send maintenance droids to replace the bedding. Bloodstains never come out easily."

Korora jolted awake with a strange voice and the lights, but not aware. Luke scooped her up and sat in the armchair. She leaned against his chest. He rubbed her back as the medbed and medic left with Mara. They'd heal this and bring her back. If for no other reason than Sidious wasn't through toying with them. His stomach churned harder when he blocked more of the pain, so he let himself feel it, to know Mara was alive on the other end of the bond.

Artoo beeped his question quietly.

"Yeah, we both need more sleep. I doubt it happens now for me. Let's stay quiet for Korora."

Artoo followed with an interrogative whistle.

"They're torturing her because she sided with us. And because I love her, like they did Leia, Han, and Chewie on Cloud City."

Now the droid warbled his concern for Luke, and raised concern over the likelihood of Mara dying from the torture. No one liked it when he gave the odds, but….

"She's not dying here." Luke cut the droid off before he rattled off any numbers and breathed deeply to prevent his arms from crushing Korora to his chest. "Trusting the Force is what I'm doing; you keep looking for anything that can help." Artoo went back to interfacing with the console.

Korora remained quiet throughout their exchange, but Luke's hope that she had dropped back into sleep was ruined when a pair of maintenance droids barged into the room with a repulsorlift-pallet with a new mattress. Their clanking and banging into the walls caused Korora to shriek and sink her fingers into Luke's undertunic. He soothed her while the droids exchanged the mattresses and smoothed fresh sheets and blanket over the new one.

"Mommy? Where's Mommy?" She jerked away from Luke sliding off his lap. "Where is she?"

"She had to go back to the medcenter."

The scowl made her face darker. "Mommy wasn't sick before they brought us here."

"No, she wasn't." He sighed. "Let's get dressed and eat breakfast."

Korora had evidently had enough of their imprisonment and Mara's treatment and transformed into a Jawa-sized sandstorm. Toys hit the walls, fists and feet hit the furniture, clothing sparked a marathon at top speed over the furniture and floor with yelling at the top of her lungs. Artoo decided to encourage the anarchy by chasing her where the furniture permitted him movement. Or maybe the droid thought he was helping herd the child. None of it helped when Mara's pain level increased and hit Luke again. Sithspit, why hadn't they sedated Mara or given her better pain blockers? He nearly blacked out from that one and scorched breakfast. How was Mara still conscious?

"Food, now." He set the bowls of porridge number two on the table with less than his usual grace and dropped into a chair.

"Not eating!" She held onto the back of the armchair and jumped on its seat.

He stared down at the lumpy mass he had no appetite for. Years of giving Janson KP duty was no preparation for this.

The door slid open. "Mommy!" Korora jumped to the bed and then bounced off the other side to the floor. Luke knew it wasn't Mara—she was much further away—but he wasn't able to get up fast enough to stop her. She stopped before the foyer and scowled at Kam Solusar. "You bring Mommy back right now!"

Solusar spread his hands. "I don't have her. She's in the medcenter."

"Get her out!" She stomped her foot. "Right now!"

"Korora, he can't," Luke said. "The Emperor put her there." His teeth clenched together. This was how Sidious rewarded loyal service with pain and death threats. He forced his jaw to relax. His daughter didn't need to pick up on his turmoil.

"Who?" she demanded.

"The man on the throne back when Mommy danced."

That finally abated the sandstorm. "He was mean."

"Yes, he is, and we don't want him to do worse to Mommy. Come eat." That finally got her to climb the stool.

Solusar stared at the mess Korora had made of their quarters. "If running off some energy will help, I found a gymnasium set up for children. It's in this section of the Citadel."

"What is that?" Korora shoveled more porridge into her mouth.

"A place where you can play once you get dressed."

She slid off the stool. "I pick my clothes."

Luke rubbed his face. "I don't care as long as you put them on."

Korora pulled a jumpsuit from the closet and went into the 'fresher. Solusar picked a pillow off the floor and put it back on the bed. "Rough night?"

"Mara miscarried and we haven't been asleep since." He put a spoonful of porridge into his mouth. He should eat more, but the pain from Mara was stealing any appetite he possessed. He pushed the bowl aside. Artoo moaned, concerned about Luke's caloric intake. "I'll be fine, Artoo. I'll make up for it at lunch or supper."

"Packing snacks will be easier than taking you to the dining facilities." Solusar found a bag and rummaged in the cabinets. Luke roused himself to clean up breakfast.

The large room that Solusar led them to was only about three levels away from their residential floor and most of its space was filled by a colorful climbing frame made of pipes, tubes, netting, and blocks arranged to resemble buildings with at least three different types of slides branching off of it. Korora blinked at it before dropping Luke's hand and running across the floor to it.

Adult-sized benches and tables were set at angles with the structure to keep an eye on the children using it. Luke dropped onto one without a table. Pain from Mara receded and so did her awareness in the bond, drifting into something like sleep. They must have finally given her a sedative. How many hours had it been, the dotkohus.

Korora slid down the wavy four-level slide with a happy shriek. Solusar sat on the other end of the bench, placing the snack bag between them. "She's enjoying it at least," he said hesitantly. "That should help take her mind off things."

"Where are the other children who use this?" Luke asked, mostly to be polite now that he wasn't feeling the cramps. "Are we a bad influence to be kept away from them?"

"There are no other children in the Citadel, even though it was built to include them." Solusar waved his hand at the equipment.

"Waging war does put a dampener on procreating." Leia had waited until the major battles were done and the New Republic settled on Coruscant before seriously considering children and she was hardly in the minority. He was glad not to have to account for any more innocents to rescue when he and Mara destroyed this evil place.

"Why procreate when you can take? Starting with your niece and nephew."

"Sidious wants to kidnap Jaina and Jacen." Luke pushed his feet against the spongy mat covering the floor. It kept him in his seat instead of charging away. "Ask Grand Admiral Thrawn how well going after Jacen and Jaina went." The entire Noghri population would stand between the Imperials and the twins. It might be beneath him as a Jedi to not warn the Imperials, but well, they were torturing Mara.

"It doesn't matter. They are Force sensitives and will be Force users. My Master wants all Force users to obey him. The Adepts most talented at farseeing are pinpointing their location." Solusar looked haggard and defeated at the news. Interesting, Sedriss would be gleeful about sharing this. Gloating that Luke was helpless to prevent it.

Preventing a kidnapping was up to Leia and Han. Maybe the Force had brought him and Mara here for a rescue if they failed. Not that they would; Leia was vicious when you threaten what's under her protection. "Are you guys sure the flash memory template hasn't degraded or something?"

"I don't have any access to the cloning technology, but why?"

"Because the original Palpatine must have had memories of my sister." Solusar frowned in confusion. "You haven't been in a firefight with Leia, but I expected that someone over the military would have figured out why we rallied behind 'Remember Alderaan'."

"Because billions of people died thanks to Tarkin's madness?"

"That and my sister's reaction. Then again, Mara was complaining about Sidious' lack of military strategizing." Solusar shook his head. Luke closed his eyes, feeling the light of the Force reaching past all the suffering on Byss to find him here. "Search your feelings; you know this isn't the right path for the galaxy."

"Darth Sidious is too powerful to stop," Solusar whispered.

Certainty filled Luke, pushing away all doubts. "He will be stopped. The dark cannot snuff out the light. He will never get the twins or Korora." Korora yelled for Luke to come push her on the swing, so he left Kam on the bench to think about it.

They stayed in the children's gymnasium for hours until Korora dragged her feet moving between activities. She whined until Luke carried her through the corridors and on the turbolift. "You still have to pick up all your toys," he told her as they reentered the suite. "You're lucky no one stepped on them or Artoo hasn't rolled over them."

"Fine," she protested as he set her down on the floor.

"I'll make cheesy noodles."

She gave a cheer and bent down to pick up the puzzle pieces. Kam looked amused as he followed them in and straightened the bedside lampshade. "You bribe her with food?"

"Food is a very effective bribe. Number one on the list of things I learned from my military career." He removed the ingredients from the cabinets and the conservator, and tried to pinpoint what felt so odd about the room. It wasn't Kam's presence using straightening as an excuse to linger. Luke had that the man simply preferred their company to everyone else in the Citadel bolted down by Kam's second visit. The buzzing was gone. Why were the Force dampeners off? He glanced around the room again. Did Artoo find a way to turn them off? The droid wasn't acting like he pulled a con on the Imperials.

"It's hard to picture you with a military career." Kam found a plastic animal under the blanket and carried it to the side of the room with the window. "Where does this go?"

The main door of the suite slid open and Luke heard the hum of the medbed as it floated in. "Mommy!" Korora shouted before she cringed back sliding between the two armchairs. Artoo moaned as he backed up. Kam's face also paled. Luke stepped out of the kitchen area, going to the foot of the bed to help move Mara and to see what had them reacting like that. Her anger was bitterly cold and focused, and no hint of fear unlike Korora, Kam, and Artoo. Doctor Akura pushed more medical equipment towards the bed. A black robed figure followed him through the foyer and stepped aside into the kitchen portion of the room. His hands rested on a gnarled black wooden cane and cold power emanated from him, filling the room.

Luke ignored him, looking at the medical equipment. A shorter and thinner version of a MedTech FX Medical Assistant droid rolled around Luke and stationed itself next to the other bedside table. He looked at Mara as the medbed's droid hands lifted her onto the bed. He didn't recognize the device strapped to her upper left arm. Her color looked better than her last go in the medcenter, but there was an obvious baby bump swelling under the fresh medical gown she wore. They put an older and larger fetus in her. His rage was as hot as the suns on Tatooine. No time for her uterus to recover and they didn't use an ovum.

Her green eyes blinked at him and then slid past him to focus on Sidious. A blast of icy rage that reminded Luke of the wind sweeping off the plains of Hoth filled the bond between them. It wasn't aimed at Luke, and Sidious' red-tinged lips smiled thinly. Luke remembered that smile taunting him to finish killing his father. He inhaled deeply as he released his anger; he did not want to feed the Dark Side with it.

Doctor Akura sent the medbed out of the room. Luke focused on the man's grateful eyes amid a pinched expression. "The working theory we have on the previous failure," he swallowed hard with a glance at Sidious, "is that the Hand's hormone levels dropped too low for a pregnancy and her body attacked the fetus as a parasite. So this fetus contains some of her genetic material to prevent that."

Luke looked at Mara as disgust roiled through her icy rage. There was nothing he could offer that would make this better except for; he projected an image of them sitting side by side on one of the veranda sofas while Korora added more splashes to the fountain. Mara rejected the offer telepathically. _We have to take him out and his back-up copies._ But that declaration didn't dent the level of her anger.

"The infusion set monitoring and correcting her hormone levels is on her arm," Akura continued. "The sensors on her torso connect to the medical assistant droid, and it will remain here to prevent another miscarriage. She must remain on complete bed rest. That's all the additional instructions I have at this time, your Highness." He glanced at Sidious again with a hard swallow.

"Leave us," Sidious ordered. Akura's relief at the dismissal battered the other emotional currents of the room. He bowed and trotted out of the room as fast as he could without running. Luke wished he could throw Kam and Korora out the door with him. Mara wasn't considering them at all with her laser-scope focus on Sidious. She hadn't felt this angry or bitter since Jomark.

"You're doing this to make me despise you." Her words were carved from ice.

Sidious chuckled and the familiar malice crawled over Luke's skin. "My dear child, you are mine to do with as I wish. You have always been mine to craft into something useful."

"To join you on the Dark Side."

"I have no need for a worthless failure such as you in my cause. You are another regrettable miscalculation that must be purged from the Empire, like those warlords who also suffer from a lack of vision."

Crushing pain ground Mara's ice, cracking her rage. "A failure? I only failed you once."

"Oh, I remember. The Gamorrean guards kept you imprisoned until the barge left." His voice scraped with contempt. "I should have sent a Hand who would not have been swayed by a handsome face." His hood shifted so his gaze fell on Luke.

Mara's pain twisted under a stab of worthlessness. Luke hadn't expected Mara to project a memory of a blue humanoid face with red eyes glowing in the dim light. " _You carried out his will,"_ Thrawn said sharply. " _No more. Whether you heard his commands more clearly than the rest of his Hands is irrelevant."_ The faded pain of that memory flared again.

Sidious sensed it and his lips curved with pleasure. "Still such a needy child. Had you focused that need on power instead of affection and approval, something could have been salvaged from all this. But you never saw through the inducements, you never grasped your potential, you never showed worthiness of my complete trust."

She was reeling from the rejection, and Luke wanted to wrap his arms around her. "Why go to all this effort for my hate?" And Luke recognized the plaintive need under her words. He remembered clinging to the antenna against the wind that had wanted to tear him off of it. _Ben, why didn't you tell me?_

"Your hate is inconsequential."

Luke found the yellow-eyed gaze on him again when Mara shared her bitter conclusion. _Of course, I'm nothing compared to a Skywalker in your grip. I never had the level of Force abilities you truly wanted. So weak, only good for baiting a trap._

It was true, he realized. Not the tear-down of her abilities but of Sidious' motives to hurt her and to entice Luke down the dark path. Was this how Palpatine seduced and lured his father to the Dark Side? The Emperor Reborn had misjudged the son. There was nothing dark when anger fueled justice for the wronged and protection for the powerless as long as it remained anger and didn't descend into hate. He stepped forward inserting himself in the line of sight between Mara and Sidious. "Get out."

Sidious' wrinkles slacked into an impassive mask.

Luke took another step toward him. Certainty had filled him again, echoing the last time he had confronted this malevolent soul. He lacked his lightsaber for a defiant gesture now, so words rolled out of him instead. "You're not standing here insulting a woman who believed she was serving a noble cause—"

Sidious lifted one hand and the bolt of lightning from it hit Luke square in the chest, knocking him off his feet. He landed next to the bed and had no air in his lungs to scream with. Mara screamed for him instead. He laid there gasping and waiting for the next barrage. "You will learn your place, Skywalker." Sidious turned and left their room, leaning heavily on his cane.

The room filled with the breathing of four people and Artoo's frantic moaning. The droid rolled around the end of the bed to look down at Luke and began to chide. Luke rolled over onto his back and tested his right hand. It curled into a fist. Good, he wasn't too worried about the fading muscle spasms.

"Can you please stop defying Sidious with your mouth, Farmboy?" Mara's voice ached. "Solusar, help him up would you?"

Artoo trilled that using his lightsaber was a better idea and if Sidious returned Luke should do just that. Kam moved around the bed and Artoo with a face as pale as his white-blond hair. Luke accepted the outstretched hand and leverage up and over to the bed. He stretched on top of the blanket. Mara rolled over onto her side to look at him. "That one wasn't the worst he's ever hit me with." She glared at him. "It wasn't," he insisted.

"That makes it so much better when I feel it too." Luke jerked to look her over. "I'm fine, but you scared Korora."

He balanced up on his elbow. Korora's wide eyes stared back at him and her whole body vibrated with fear. "I'm fine. Come see. It's all right." She jerked out from between the armchairs and crawled up between them from the end of the bed. Luke laid back down and pulled the trembling child against his chest. "It's over now." He kissed her forehead.

She squeezed him as hard as she could and he was glad that her arms were around his chest and not his neck. "He was mean and scary," Korora said.

"Yes, he was, especially to Mommy." He looked over to Mara's stoic face. She had her end of the bond shielded. "You know he just wanted to hurt you. You are not worthless."

"You're biased."

"Fine, I'm biased. But what about Korora? And do you really think Karrde would promote anyone that had no skills or abilities? And Aves and the rest of them I've met like you just fine. Leia invited you over for dinner because Han likes you, and she told me that Sian Tevv never takes work colleagues to the opera." He shifted without dislodging Korora and dropped a kiss on Mara's lips. "Are they all biased too?"

Korora slid so she was able to wrap Mara's head in her arms and kissed her face without landing on Mara's torso. "I love you, Mommy!"

"I love you too." Mara returned Korora's kiss and dropped her mental shield. Luke sent in his reassurances, his faith, his love. She felt fragile, but she reached out to him mentally and physically. Their fingers twined together and she sighed. He caught a glimpse of everyone he had mentioned in her memories. He felt the fierce protection to keep Korora off the path she had been forced on as the little girl curled against her on a bed. Karrde and Mara sharing a meal and camaraderie with the rest of the crew on the _Wild Karrde_. His sister and brother-in-law at a function he didn't recognize; Tevv at the Galaxies Opera House. Those remembrances and their collective goodwill were shattered by a memory of his face twisted with fearful fury and singed slightly. The lightsaber blade entered the line of sight to strike down the clone that C'baoth had made of him.

Mara yanked that memory away as she tried to yank her hand back. Luke refused to let go. "Don't, please don't," he said. Her face was mostly hidden by Korora, but he felt her dismay. "I have never held that against you, Mara. You did what you had to against an enemy combatant. It's not like C'baoth left anything of my clone's mind to save."

Her dismay turned bitter over his incomprehension. He let go of her hand and shifted Korora down between them, so he could see Mara's disbelieving glare. "With that damned command in my head, it would've been you!"

He smiled, reached out, and smoothed the red-gold wisps escaping from her braid. "Never. You weren't using Karrde's resources to destroy me, just rebuilding your life. And after you found out it was all because of Vader, you would have come to me for help digging the command out." His fingers moved from her hair to delicately stroke her skin. "You're stronger than you realize. That's why Sidious attacked you so hard."

Her glare softened into something close to gratitude. "Thank you." The fragility was still there along with a desire to lash out and to answer pain for pain. He made sure to send compassion through the bond. "You didn't have to defend me," she continued.

"Of course I did." He took her hand again. "You deserve protection."

She didn't know what to do with that assurance and tried to dismiss it. "Feel free to be more offensive with your defense of others."

"What? Hit him with one of the chairs?"

Artoo made a dismissive squawk and rolled back to the console. Kam copied the sound. Luke sat up to look at him and Korora squirmed between him and Mara. Kam's whole body twitched. "Hit Darth Sidious with a chair?"

Luke shrugged. "He was there, chair is there, she didn't agree to have a baby with him just incubate his clone."

"He will kill you for that defiance!"

"Strategically, it won't work unless we neutralize all the opposition." Mara patted Luke's arm. "But thanks for the offer."

"You can't encourage this," Kam told Mara. "He will kill you, Skywalker, if you continue to defy him."

"I'm a rebel; it's what we do." Kam gaped at Luke. Luke continued, "And I'm a Jedi, we use the Force to defend and protect, never to attack. Sidious became someone to defend against when he assaulted Mara, when he assaulted the galaxy, when he assaulted you. If defying him keeps my family safe, I'll keep defying him." Kam's face hadn't regained any color with Luke's declaration. If anything, mentioning family made his jaw drop further. "There are holes in your memories, Kam. They wouldn't be there if you had joined the Dark Side willingly."

He shook his head, slightly recovering from his daze. "I must… I have to go." They didn't say anything as he left the room.

"Family, Luke?" Mara asked softly.

He swiveled to look at her pinched expression. "We have a kid now." Korora giggled and batted his hand away. "Family is the easiest way to describe it."

"I don't know if I can do the family thing." Her doubts were tinged with everything Sidious had just said including an added fear of losing him. His getting hit with the Force Lightning had not helped her deal with that fear.

He leaned over—careful not to crush Korora—so their faces were closer. "We're both too stubborn to fail."

Mara smirked before kissing him.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** "Wermo piholetka" translates into "stupid medical doctor" in Huttese with the Coruscant Translator. I had fun trying to figure out what it would be before finding the Coruscant Translator. According to Complete Wermo's Huttese Dictionary, they used Hindi and Quechua for the movies dialogue, but I never found anything I liked from them. Considering how prevalent Huttese must be on Tatooine adds an extra layer of insult to Luke's childhood nickname of Wormie. That just dawned on me while writing this chapter and looking at the translations.

"Dotkohus" is Huttese for "bastard."

"Oh, I remember. The Gamorrean guards kept you imprisoned until the barge left." — Okay, Zahn wrote himself into a corner with the whole Mara on Jabba's sail barge thing. Luke's introduction to her via creepy cave/tree Force vision is powerful stuff, but also in _Heir to the Empire_ Zahn had her explain what happened.

Her lip twisted. "Jabba wouldn't let me go with the execution party. That was it—pure and simple. I tried begging, cajoling, bargaining—I couldn't change his mind." "No," Luke said soberly. "Jabba was highly resistant to the mind-controlling aspects of the Force."

So this worked for the novel and fits Jabba's character too. I like Jabba's hubris leading even more into his downfall, especially since I have always thought Luke would have gritted his teeth and paid Jabba had the Hutt given a price. But Luke knew Jabba wouldn't (I grew up here you know) so we got a Sarlacc feeding frenzy and burnt sail barge.

Five years later (publishing order), we see this fiasco of an operation from Mara's point of view in the short story "Slight of Hand" collected in the _Tales From Jabba's Palace_. I actually enjoy the whole fiasco up until she has to beg Jabba for the ride. I have to agree with Frangipani that our girl Mara gives up way too easily.

So new headcanon time like I did earlier with _The Courtship of Princess Leia_. The fiasco happened: Mara's attempt to shoot Luke in the main chamber is interrupted by Melina Carniss thinking it was an assassination attempt on Jabba, the merry chase Mara leads them on ends with her getting injured and trapped in a dungeon. By the time she breaks out and fights free, the sail barge had taken off. She finds something that will fly out that far and snarls at the burning sail barge. Sources in Mos Eisley cannot find a freighter as distinctive as the _Falcon_ , and Palpatine sends her to Svivren. When Luke later asks about it while they're hiking on Myrkr, he gets an angry spiel over how everybody on Tatooine must have wanted to kill Jabba. By the end of the whole thing, **she** wanted to kill Jabba and didn't even get that satisfaction thanks to Luke. Luke explaining that Leia strangled Jabba before the whole explosion doesn't make Mara feel better.


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

Kam stared dully at the text on the console terminal screen. He had slept badly the night before and his morning wanderings had led him to the offices of Imperial Intelligence. They had jumped at having a Dark Side Elite approve of their report before sending it on, especially the one who was embedded with the Jedi and the punished Hand as a spy. He sipped on his cup of caf and focused. He skimmed over their justifications of the conclusion. They were seventy-percent certain that the Solo twins had been sent to the safety of the New Alderaan colony. He suspected a reason for giving him this information was the hope that Skywalker had slipped a clue as to what the family planned to do to protect the children. Or that he could use the details to demoralize the enemy. He didn't bother to correct these mis-comprehensions; they kept him in the loop.

Not to mention that he was at a lost as to what would demoralize Skywalker. Yesterday, he would have guessed it was endangering the Emperor's Hand. But that was shattered when Skywalker revealed his desire to defy Darth Sidious for the sake of others, for the sake of family.

Kam shook his head. His sleepless night had been wasted wishing that the Hand hadn't restrained Skywalker. Why did the Jedi inspire this? Why did this collection of people calling themselves a family draw his attention so strongly? He closed his eyes with a sigh. He opened them again and the office and the terminal had vanished, replaced by a man kneeling in front of him, and he felt the weight of the man's hands on his shoulders. The face Kam stared into bore a striking resemblance to the one that he saw in the mirror every morning only with darker hair. He squeezed Kam's shoulders. "Family is more important than the Jedi Council believes. Loving you has made me a better Jedi."

He jerked and the terminal chair rocked. The office returned. An Intelligence Analyst who had supplied the report for review stepped closer. "Is everything all right, Elite Solusar?"

"I… yes, I'm fine." He gestured at the report. "The likelihood of finding the Solo twins is quite low."

"The Farseers have not confirmed our analysis. They haven't been able to pinpoint the parents' location since they left the Rebellion's new base on Da Soocha."

That was unexpected. The Farseers had no issues with pinpointing the location of the Emperor's Hand and Jedi Skywalker so the _Eclipse_ could intercept them. By all reports, Leia Organa Solo was less trained than her brother. How was she accomplishing this disappearance?

He remembered the child Korora cowering last night. She didn't deserve the fear piled onto her. And they wanted to capture two infants and subject them to the Citadel. But he could delay that outcome, for a little while. "Tatooine," he murmured.

"Sir?"

Kam straightened his shoulders as he looked up at the analyst. "Our opponents are not amateurs. Organa Solo lied to Tarkin's face gambling the lives of Alderaan. She'd know New Alderaan and Corellia would be targets for a search for her children."

"But Tatooine has a family connection too. Her brother the Jedi was raised there."

"And his father was born there as well. It is worth the risk to make sure her children become Jedi to rival the Emperor Reborn."

The analyst frowned. "How does sending them to Tatooine ensures they become Jedi? That doesn't make sense."

"There are conflicting reports on how Jedi Skywalker made himself a Jedi. Darth Vader killed Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi on the Death Star, so it's possible he had been training Skywalker from birth in the old ways. But then there are reports in Skywalker's file that indicate his lack of Jedi skills in the battles between Yavin and Endor. But right before that he emerged on Tatooine and destroyed Jabba the Hutt's criminal empire there." Kam twisted his expression into concentration then relaxed. "That's what the vision meant. There is something about Tatooine, maybe a nexus, that hones Jedi. Organa Solo would send her children to that something for their protection."

"You had a vision."

"Of an endless desert under two suns."

The analyst nodded. "That sounds like Tatooine. I'll add it to the orders before the retrieval team is sent out."

"Glad to be of service to the Empire." Kam left the office and headed to the residential section of the Citadel.

The door of the Hand's room slid open. The Force dampeners had been activated again, but Kam focused past the mental buzzing. The couple on the bed did not pull away from their nestled but fully clothed embrace. Korora lay on the seat of one of the armchairs and held a datapad over her face. The astromech droid wasn't parked at the console in the corner. The child turned her head and spied his entry. "Hello, Master Solusar."

"Come in," the Hand said. "Make yourself comfortable."

Kam headed to the dining table which let him see that the Hand was studying her own datapad as she lay on her side facing the window. Skywalker's arm draped over her so he could press his hand on her distended stomach. The astromech was connected by a link arm to the medical assistant droid. But Skywalker spoke before Kam could ask what was going on. "I honestly can't tell if this is working or not. The most I did on the twins was sense them, checked their growth progress. When Leia let me."

"Heartbeat is stable according to the sensors." Skywalker lifted up on his elbow and leg to look over the woman's shoulder at the datapad. "That may be the best we get right now," she added.

"What are you doing?" Kam asked.

Skywalker scooted to the edge of the bed. "Putting the fetus in a healing trance. We're hoping that will help the pregnancy last longer."

"Is that what you need to do to heal my memories?"

Kam couldn't decide what Skywalker was thinking by the man's expression. "Healing trances work best for physical injuries or foreign chemicals inside the body. You aren't suffering from either of those. I would use affect mind backwards to restore what your mind has been forced to forget."

"You've done that before?" Jade asked.

"Yes, though the circumstances were slightly different. Eppie Belden had some Force sensitivity and her dementia had been parasitically induced, so a healing trance was necessary to clear the scars. I guided her through the worse of it and she finished up on her own. Ended up spearheading Bakura's revolution when she woke up."

"And how do I know you aren't just implanting things to change me?" Kam found his fists were pressing against his thighs.

"Madame Belden was a rebel before the Imperials got a hold of her. But it's all a matter of trust. Who do you trust, Kam Solusar? You are not my enemy and I have no reason to hurt you, but I will hurt you by bringing forward memories you are repressing. The truth always hurts before it sets you free."

"You sound so sure of that."

Skywalker's right hand squeezed into a fist as his face twitched with remembered pain. "Lived experience," he said as he sighed away the emotion. "It's your choice, Kam. I won't force anything on you." He swung his legs off the bed and went to the conservator.

The Jedi asks him who he trusts; Kam was tempted to howl over that. Skywalker walked around Kam, ignoring his inner turmoil. The child disregarded them all as she flopped in the armchair and concentrated on her datapad. The Hand's gaze met his, but her inscrutable green eyes didn't answer his agitation.

All the training drilled into him screamed 'trust no one,' especially not their enemy the Jedi. But their enemy was the only one to catch Kam in a moment of weakness and didn't attack him for it.

And the man who kept haunting him. He needed to know who he was, why a Jedi returned to him in visions over and over again. He rubbed his hands against his trousers. Skywalker wouldn't use his visions against him; it was laughable to contemplate Darth Sidious or Sedriss giving him the same courtesy. "I want…." His mouth was so dry, but this felt right. Like it had felt when he took the Dark Side artifact away from here and tossed it from the Citadel, like it had felt when he confused the kidnapping mission. "I want what I have forgotten. Do you need any equipment?"

Skywalker was handing the Hand a water bulb when he jerked his head to look at Kam. He smiled with a dip of his head. "No equipment, but the armchairs will be more comfortable. Korora, you'll have to move."

Korora groaned. "I'm not done yet."

"Pause it and come lay on the bed with me," her mother said. "What Daddy has to do is important."

The Hand really didn't have a problem with the adoption, Kam noted to himself as Skywalker scooped the child up and made her laugh before depositing her on the bed. The Jedi then moved both armchairs as close to the window as they could get. Kam frowned over that until he got closer and felt the buzzing of the Force dampeners decrease. He sat gingerly in one before lowering the mental shields that kept him safe from everyone else in the Citadel.

Skywalker's presence in the Force burned. Kam basked in it like a plant that had never felt natural sunlight would do. Familiar and dangerous and necessary and unassailable. Following Skywalker's instructions into meditation and feeling the Force surround them, it was like the Jedi Artifacts room but magnified.

"Your mind will construct a place, some call it a mind palace," Skywalker said. "It's a visual way to access all your memories even the ones that have been locked away from you. It will take the shape of sanctuary."

The plain they walked on took the shape of an orderly garden planted in the ground framed by the paths running through it, forming squares of green. Ahead of them a long building two stories high at the left end and three stories high at the right end rose toward the bright blue sky. They moved closer and the carved details stood out: delicate religious statues, tall towers, and filigreed arches carved from stone. Kam frowned at it. "I don't…. This must be a place from your life."

Skywalker shook his head. "My mind palace looks like my uncle's homestead on Tatooine only with more rooms than we ever had. We will find answers there."

Another figure fidgeted on the steps leading to a wooden door set in a carved arch. A painfully thin boy with white-blond hair tugged on a rope hanging against the wall. The gong inside echoed faintly through the stone. The jumpsuit he wore had threadbare spots at the elbows and knees. He turned to look back at the garden with haunted brown eyes, but obviously didn't see Kam or Skywalker. The door was opened by a tall Caamasi wearing a rough-woven brown robe. The teenage boy curled his hands into fists at his sides. "They said at the spaceport you could help me." He swallowed hard. "I don't have enough credits to leave, but I can work. I just can't—" his throat convulsed again. "I have to stay far away from Vader. You know who Vader is, right?"

"Come in, child. The Empire has not troubled themselves with us." The Caamasi ushered the boy inside.

"Brother Di'Kla," Kam whispered. "How did I forget him? The Jeronimos, they took care of me, raised me for thirteen years."

"To answer that we must go further in."

Kam swallowed much like his younger version had and stepped into the shadowed doorway. The expected grand hallway held up with arches and pillars did not appear, but instead they stepped into a claustrophobic metal Imperial cell. He was strapped to a tilted table and a black spherical droid floated in front of him touching him with a sparking prod. Kam remembered the straps digging into his skin and muscles. His throat dried from screaming and an ache radiated from his neck. Sedriss stood in the corner, grinning at the writhing. This he remember, this would be his reward if he ever disobeyed.

Skywalker's hand squeezed his shoulder. "Concentrate. It's in the past now."

Kam nodded and the sensations faded away to dull aches. The cell door opened before them and they stepped into the monastery's courtyard. Neat graveled paths quartered the square space surrounded by a passageway of arches and an upper level balcony the arches supported. Figures moved under the first arch on the right, so Kam and Skywalker approached the opening.

It was the crew quarters on a spaceship. A woman lay in the bunk and the inset lights highlighted her emaciated form. Her white-blonde hair looked brittle against the protected pillow. "Jeza Hesas," Kam said.

The younger Kam who hadn't yet had the growth spurt to match the one outside the monastery slammed a medkit closed. "I don't know what to do. Dad could heal you, but I can't, Mom. I don't know what to do!" His voice cracked and his ragged breathing revealed his tears.

"Mother," Kam whispered.

Jeza gripped her son's hand. "I will never be gone as long as you remember me. Someday, your teacher will come, so you must keep your heart and mind open for wisdom."

The younger Kam inhaled raggedly. "I will."

Jeza's labored breathing matched her son's but her face seemed lit by an inner fire. "You will help change the galaxy, I know it."

"She died not long after this." Kam managed to explain past the stone lodged in his throat and the tears streaming down his cheeks. "I sold the ship; I couldn't fly it alone. The credits kept me moving."

"I'm sorry for your loss, Kam," Luke said softly. "She spoke the truth and now you have her back."

"They didn't need to take her."

"No." A shadow crossed the younger man's face. "But the Empire is very good at taking."

"What did they take from you?"

"My father, probably my mother too, my aunt and uncle who raised me, my best friend from childhood—" He broke off with a head shake. "This is not a comparison. Nearly everyone in the galaxy has a list or they're composing one right now."

"Of course." Kam turned to the next arch wondering if his mother was also right about his teacher.

This arch had them back in the Imperial cell, though without the interrogation droid's presence. Four years ago, the torture only happened four years ago, and it was so bad he had joined Darth Sidious' forces just to make it stop. Twenty-eight-year-old Kam was strapped to the slanted table. Sedriss entered the cell, walking with a bounce to his step that sent his spiky black hair quivering. "Comfy in those restraints?" The prisoner didn't respond, didn't even turn his head to look clearly at Sedriss. "Darth Sidious thought you'd like to see this again." The Dark Side Elite held a dulled-silver lightsaber hilt with a brown leather hand-grip in front of the restrained Kam's face.

Kam recognized the lightsaber he was always drawn toward in the Jedi Artifacts room about the same time as the prisoner Kam's face frowned and shifted to look at Sedriss.

"Don't bother with any cute ideas; the power cell is disconnected." Sedriss set the hilt into the prisoner's hand.

The cell vanished to show the rain-soaked street Kam saw constantly. Lightning flashed behind the black armored and caped figure illuminating him for a moment. His opponent was dressed in sodden trousers and tunic and brought up the amber beam of light to block the blow from the red. Vader was relentless in his swings and soon objects surrounding the two combatants lifted off the ground and hurled to the man with the amber lightsaber. He thrust out his free hand and the trash bin aiming for his head was shoved away. He cut the broken-off part from a street light in half with his lightsaber. But he couldn't keep up with the barrage of items and the swings of the red lightsaber. He fell back on the rain-slicked surface of the street. Vader brought the his saber down.

The vision ended returning their view of the cell. Kam found his cheeks wet again, but it was nothing compared to the sobs prisoner Kam made. The lightsaber hilt slipped from his bound hand, rolled off the slanted table, and hit the metal floor with a clang.

That still didn't explain who the man was and why his death hurt so much. He moved to the next arch with frustration a thing to gnaw on in his mouth. He and Luke stood outside a light freighter's entry ramp, the same freighter Kam sold after his mother died. The man dressed in the same tunic and trousers he would die in, knelt in front of a boy on the ramp. The boy was about nine or ten, his mother's white-blond hair cropped short on his head and his father's brown eyes narrowed and angry. The man had the same brown eyes, only his were filled with a sad purpose.

Kam nearly fell back with a jolt as the final pieces slotted into place. "Ranik was my father."

Ranik's hands engulfed the boy Kam's shoulders. "Leaving you and your mother is the hardest thing I've ever done. But a Jedi defends and protects. This is what I must do to protect you and your mother."

"But you're not a Jedi; they kicked you out!" the boy Kam nearly shouted. "And now they're all dead," he added sorrowfully.

"And does that make the Empire right?" Ranik asked.

"No, but the Jedi weren't right either!"

"The Jedi lost their way. Family is more important that the Jedi Council believed. The future is always in motion, but you, Kam, have a role in changing the Jedi. Be brave and strong for your mother, trust the Force, and always remember that my loving you has made me a better Jedi." Ranik embraced his son, and Kam remember that hug. He sobbed and turned away, closing his eyes against the fluctuating structures across the courtyard.

His inhale shuddered and Kam blinked to clear his eyes of the tears. The monastery was gone; he was back in the Hand's room. Luke's hand withdrew from his after a final squeeze. "My father was Ranik Solusar. He left the Jedi Order to marry my mother Jeza Hesas. I came along later."

"I am sorry for your loss." Luke tried to pull back his wave of guilty sorrow.

He didn't understand what the Jedi had to feel guilty for and it didn't matter compared to his own shame. "At least they died before they could see what became of me."

"Go get them some water," the Hand told Korora. The little girl slid off the bed and headed to the conservator. Jade looked back at the two men. "So it worked?"

Kam rubbed his face and blinked back tears. "I remember my parents, my life before this hellish planet."

"Count yourself lucky to have some details." Her voice was gruff, but Kam sensed it was not meant unkindly.

"The Empire got him when he was an adult," Luke said with sorrow still etched onto his face. "Different from your circumstances."

Jade shifted closer to the edge of the bed. "Is that why you're upset, Farmboy?"

Luke shook his head. "It's not important."

"If I were as upset as you are, you wouldn't drop it."

"He saw my father kill his. I saw what he remembered. Does that satisfy you?"

"Yes, but I want to give you a hug now."

Luke reached over the cot and clasped her outstretched hand. Korora handed Kam a water bulb and then squeezed between Luke's legs before handing him one also. Kam guzzled the cool water gratefully while Korora clambered onto Luke's lap. "Darth Vader was your father?" Kam asked.

"He was Anakin Skywalker before he fell, and he turned back to Anakin Skywalker before the end. You haven't traveled nearly as far as he did down the dark path." Luke cuddled the child and kissed her temple.

Kam's gaze dropped to the floor. "But I still fell."

"You think you're the only one Palpatine ripped from their family and forced to do evil in his name?" Jade's green eyes flashed.

"You thought you were serving good because he brainwashed you," Luke said to Jade as he reached for her hand again.

"And the monsters I killed were hurting people and were guilty of crimes under everyone's laws. None of that changes the fact that I helped a monster worse than they were. You have to acknowledge your mistakes; learn from them; then pick up, move on, and make the right choice from now on."

Kam stared at the woman, who had bargained for Luke and her daughter's lives. Even he could feel the righteousness in her decision and where her loyalties now lay. "How can we stop them? We're outnumbered."

She blinked before curving her lips into a nasty smile that made Kam gulp. "Bring us the complete plans for the Citadel and security access for everything locked away from us. I'd have it already if I was at my usual mobility. I hate being stuck in this bed."

"How will that help?"

Luke finished his water bulb. "Mara's suffering from a lack of information."

"When the situation calls for your skill set, you can take the lead."

Kam considered the request. "I should be able to pull up that information without setting off any alarms. Most of the personnel are concerned with finding the Solo twins and the next offensive against the Reb—New Republic." He looked at Luke. "The Adepts most gifted at Farseeing can't locate the children nor your sister. I told them to check Tatooine."

Luke smiled. "You're already making better choices."

Jade's ferocious pleasure eased into thoughtfulness. "But they have seen where the New Republic escaped to?"

"Imperial Intelligence has the hierarchy on Da Soocha, but confirmed Minister Organa Solo nor her husband are there now."

"Interesting," Luke murmured.

"So there is confirmation they're alive?" Jade pressed.

"Yes. Do you know how she's hiding in the Force?"

"I wonder how she's doing it too." Luke's puzzled expression cleared. "I hope we don't have to wait too long before we find out."

Kam shook his head as he rose. They had no reason to trust him with their theories, not until he proved himself. "I'll go get the security clearance now." He felt lighter inside than he remembered ever feeling before as he raised his mental shields against the pain of Byss. He was rebel scum now and felt so free. He passed the pair of Imperial Sovereign Protectors and neither of them reacted to his changes. Good, let them remain unaware. He'd prove himself to Skywalker and Jade, and he'd continue making the choices that thwarted Darth Sidious' plans.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I tweaked Luke's healing of Eppie Belden in _the Truce at Bakura_ to better support what Luke wants to do with Kam. I adore Eppie and wished the feisty old lady had a few more Legends adventures.

The Jeronimos — I never planned on going into too much detail of the monastery religious order that protected and raised Kam for thirteen years. They aren't Force users and the welcome any and all sentients species and live so far into the Outer Rim they could give Tatooine some competition for the furtherest from the bright center of the universe. I based their buildings on pictures of the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos in Lisbon, Portugal so I named the group after the place. Forgive any mistakes in my crude photo manipulation. I've had to switch to GIMP from my old program and the learning curve is steep. Oh if you're reading this version, the images are on the AO3 version and The BookWorm's Library version.


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One**

Mara swished the mouthwash around her teeth a final time before spitting it out into the sani and flushing. This was the worse method of killing someone she had ever experienced, taking far too long and too haphazard if it would actually work. But it did twist something that should be miraculous and wonderful into what she couldn't bear to contemplate. She wasn't surprised; Vader's suit barely kept him alive after all, and imposed so much pain on him it always afflicted her.

She leaned against the basin cabinet and shifted her legs on the cold 'fresher floor. Her datapad slipped from her fingers and slid out of reach. It didn't matter. She nearly had the information on the Citadel's systems memorized. But there was no way to implement the sabotage. Kam's clearance did not include ship access. She hadn't realized how much hope she had pinned on that escape route for Korora until it was obviously not available.

The door slid open behind her. "Korora's finally asleep," Luke said. "I brought you some warm milk. It was about the only drink that settled Leia's stomach."

She accepted the glass and sipped the contents. "I have been drunk enough for alcohol poisoning and didn't throw up this much."

He lifted something from the basin counter before sitting behind her on the floor. _Fix your hair?_ She granted permission through the bond too tired to verbalize her assent. He undid the lopsided bun she had pulled her hair into and ran a brush through it. His touch was gentle but assured, only his pleasure in touching her was muted after her assurance. "Did you figure anything out or were you too sick to read?" he asked aloud.

"I think the architect was a secret Rebel. The power and ventilation systems are all wired too close together. Big enough boom in one spot and there isn't enough fire suppression systems to stop the chain reaction."

"Or a dead man's switch." His fingers parted her hair into sections. "Up or down?"

"Down is fine." She sighed as she recognized the gentle tugs on her scalp as he started to braid. "I didn't find a stash of explosives waiting for detonation, but that's not something usually marked on the schematics. We still need to find a ship out of here."

"I told Artoo to slice for someone with access in the military ranks. More likely to have duties that take them out of the Citadel without having to wait for Sidious' approval."

"Good idea. I don't want to start any explosions without a way out. And going down the tower to the ground is out; can't move fast enough." She drained the glass and set it down.

"From experience, nobody in the hangar bays checks identification when everything is exploding."

"We can't just run for it, not with Korora." It was easier to focus on the child's needs and safety rather than her own. Because there was no denying the fact that her body's performance was compromised thanks to the clone fetus inside her. She focused on its faltering heartbeat with the Force like Luke had showed her and ignored how her head throbbed. The heartbeat was slowing. Akura never gave her any answers to her post-implantation questions, so she was left wondering if they failed because of the clone tissue trying to grow into a baby. Or if the failure was because they yanked out her fertility blocker and didn't give her body time to reestablish its fertility cycle. Or if she was completely unable to carry any fetus to term.

He tied off the end of the braid and wrapped his arms around her, coaxing her to lean against him instead as he shifted his legs so she was between them. "There's nothing wrong with you; they're not doing surrogacy right for any species." He kissed behind her ear.

She entwined her fingers with his, keeping his hands against her just under her breasts. "I suppose it's a little late to ask you if you wanted children."

"When I was younger it was just assumed I'd take over the homestead, get married, and have a child to pass it to. I even assumed that no matter how much I did not want the homestead. I guess the most thought I gave the whole idea was to not die on a spice freighter and leave my kids alone." He chuckled ruefully at his younger self.

"And now?"

His spark of pleasure warmed her too. "I like it when Korora calls me 'daddy.' You like it too, now."

"She is easy to love."

"I don't want her to be an only child. I do want a family that isn't dead, and isn't me interloping on Leia's." The pleasure spark snuffed out in a morass of discouragement. "What about you? I know they didn't ask if you were okay with changing the experiment this way." He shifted to touch the bulge, but stopped when she tensed in his arms.

It's not mine reverberated in her head, but she couldn't get it past her lips. It was a monster dying inside her body threatening to take her life along with its. It's not mine.

Luke tightened his arms around her ribs. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I wasn't trying to hurt you." He nuzzled her neck. "I'm sorry."

She took a deep breath, soaked in his apology, and pushed aside her fear to give him an answer. "Maternal feelings were not encouraged by the Emperor or anyone else responsible for my training. Between the Empire and Karrde, that life was no place for an infant." The thought of what Isard could have done with a helpless hostage in play threatened to roil her stomach again. "And I didn't have the fortitude to care for one. Over the past year, stabilizing myself has been priority. Now, I don't want this. Not that this fetus will survive much longer."

"But you're okay with Korora?"

She nodded. "She has no one else and I won't let them turn her into another Hand. But having a child on purpose, that's too caught up in this mess and too far in the future." She snapped her mouth shut on the idea that having his child instead of this monster didn't repulse her. What good would it do to say that aloud when they had no chance of survival?

Luke's disheartenment didn't shift as he tried to set it aside to attain detachment. "They'll stop this experiment on you if I turn." She stiffened in his arms and he cradled his head against her neck. "Double agent, I wouldn't really turn."

She gave that idea fair consideration on its tactical merits. "Sidious is waiting for you to do that. He's prepared to torture you worse than Solusar to make you turning to the Dark Side stick." He felt slightly offended as he lifted his head, so she mollified it. "Your habit of utter sincerity works against you." And yes, she had to remind her awful wiggly doubt that Luke always meant what he said and that he never played games, not like the Imperial Court, not like Anor.

He caught the worry before she could stuff it behind a mental shield. "What do you think was possibly a ploy?" He asked aloud in honest farm boy confusion.

She hadn't wanted to give him more ammunition for his conviction that she had a horrible childhood. "In the Court, being as nice as you have been would have been scheming for sexual favors."

"Being friendly was a ploy to get sex?"

"You made huge gestures. Look, I know you didn't mean them that way."

"Huge gestures? I treated you like all my other friends."

"You'd rent your mother's apartment to one of the Rogues?"

"If they needed a place to stay, yes. But only after a security deposit against structural damage to the entire building." She snorted with amusement. He readjusted his hold around her. "Mara, honestly, I only wanted to be your friend. It became more later, and if you hadn't wanted more too, I wouldn't have."

"I know, Farmboy, I know." She loosened her hands and rubbed his arms. "This place is getting to me."

He hugged her tighter and kissed her neck, indignation and fear tying themselves into knots inside his mind. Indignation that anyone would dare subject her to ploys, but Anor's whole setup was one big ploy that Anor had dove head first into it. Fear that Mara would die here, like Aunt Beru almost died with her baby, and he didn't want that happening. He'd sacrifice himself, she and Korora could run away, he'd resist falling long enough, he'd survive torture long enough for them to get away.

She twisted to look at his face. "Luke, no. Sidious will not stop punishing me to win you."

"He won't win me." He pressed his forehead against her head. "You can take Korora and get out of his reach."

She sent him a jolt of determination through their bond so he raised his head and looked at her again. "Sidious is waiting for that. We won't get away. And if you go down that path, soon Korora and I won't mean anything to you to save." He flinched, but she continued on because he hadn't agreed she was right yet. "I'm not you. You go Vader and I won't be able to pull you back."

"You could pull me back," he whispered.

"All I can promise is to kill you quickly before you damage the galaxy. I do not want to kill you, so I'd rather make sure you don't go dark in the first place. Promise me you won't do that."

He sighed and the desperation dissipated in his mind. "You're right." And relief so strong she could taste it filled her. "I promise, Mara. I won't go dark."

She kissed him, a bit sloppy from the angle she was twisted in, but pouring everything she felt for him into it and into the bond. He responded with the same. The despair Byss was steeped in recoiled from them both in the heat of that kiss. He recognized that as soon as she did. "Fight it back," she murmured against his lips. "Touch me, Farmboy, please touch me."

"I won't be able to stop touching you if I start."

Instead of answering, she tucked her hands under his under-tunic and caressed his skin. He leaned back and she peeled it off him.

With fond exasperation, he twisted her around so her back rested against his chest. His hands parted the medical tunic she wore and cupped her breasts. She moaned as he kneaded and teased her hardening nipples. The pleasure pushed the darkness further away.

She rolled her medical trousers down her hips, avoiding the medical sensors attached to her stomach. Luke lifted her off the floor with the Force. His hands continued to massage her breasts while his lips explored her neck and shoulder. She freed her right leg from the loose trousers completely and planted her right foot on the outside of his extended right leg. She twisted the empty fabric to the outside of her left thigh before her ass settled on the floor again and reclined against Luke's heated skin. She shifted her left foot to the outside of his left leg so both helped keep her splayed open.

Luke murmured adulations to her beauty in her ear before he gently bit the earlobe. Her fingers found her slit and glided inside. He rocked his hips in time with his lust and her gyrations against her hand. Her thumb rubbed her clit, faster and faster. He added teeth to his nips down her neck. His hands squeezed her breasts tighter as she came.

She bit down on a knuckle from her free hand to stifle her cry of pleasure while sharing the bright release with Luke. His hips stuttered and he cried her name while he came. They managed to keep each other balanced upright while the aftershocks rippled through both of them and the bond. She wiped her hand on her trousers before pulling her legs in and nestling against Luke. He wrapped one arm around her in a loose embrace, leaving the other braced against the floor.

When he had his breathing under control again, he spoke. "We need to figure out how to block feeling each other's pain. But that? I don't want to block that."

Mara chuckled and soon he joined the laughter. It was better now than it had been, but she worried under the tightest mental shield she knew. What would happen when their love wasn't a match for the misery here? What would happen if she wasn't here for Luke? How long did they have before they'd learn what the answer to either of those questions was? She pressed tighter against him, taking the time to cuddle, and ignoring the bleakness with all her might.


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Luke wrapped his arms around Mara, pulling her compliant body to his side. The splashing from the fountain drowned out the sounds of Coruscanti traffic, or maybe it had actually stopped for once. They were safe on the veranda reclining on the sofa, far away from the pain of Byss. Mara, pain free and healthy, slid astride his lap, trapping his thighs between her knees. They were safe. She felt the same as he did and in the low light she looked like she was made of opal. His heart swelled. Could she feel this through the bond? Could she see how beautiful she was through his eyes?

He tilted his head to kiss her, and Leia's voice said clearly. "Kest, at least I got to you before you got Mara Jade naked on your lap."

Mara vanished from his lap far more silently than he knew she would ever do. The veranda on Coruscant was visible again, but the details were hazy. Leia stood on the airspeeder dock beyond the fountain, bright and shining against the indistinct Coruscant night sky. They just got away; why was Leia here? "Leia?"

"Wake up, Luke! It is harder than it normally is to speak to your mind." Her snap had the old chain of command bidding to it, and Luke found himself blinking bleary-eyed at Mara's braided red hair. Still on Byss, still in danger, still helpless while the galaxy was under attack. He eased away from Mara's sleeping form and pushed back his despair. His head throbbed, but ignoring that he felt Leia's presence brighter than everything else he could sense.

He rolled out of bed, grabbed the datapad with the Citadel's schematics on it, and settled in the armchair against the outside wall. He drew on the Force and reached out to his twin. _Leia?_

 _That's better._ The throb created by the Force dampeners lessened between them and he could sense his sister's vexation. _I have been losing sleep worrying about what they were doing to you and you're—_ Her embarrassment overwhelmed their conversation.

Remembering Mara's predicament squashed his joy at reaching his sister. _They're torturing Mara. I love her and they're torturing her._ Leia's concern subdued her pique. _Threatened me and Korora to get her to agree to surrogate Palpatine's clone,_ he continued.

 _He reached me first when I reached out to you._ Luke's concern spiked with her disgust. _He agreed to a meeting; Han will not like that development._

 _A meeting with you alone?_ Luke didn't project disapproval, and when Leia affirmed, he felt hope strengthen in him. _This could work. Have Han and Chewie rendezvous with Mara. She knows how to blow this Citadel into orbit. Get a datapad._ He opened his to the Citadel's schematics and when Leia had a blank file open, he seized her hand to follow his as he traced the route from the hangar bays to their prison room.

Pleasure bloomed from her as the map took shape. _Giving those two something to demolish will smooth that over. Palpatine only mentioned you as a prisoner. I guess he thought I wouldn't come looking for Mara. Our estimated time of arrival is a few hours. I have to go talk to Han; don't do anything stupid, Luke._

 _I'll wait until you get here to share the fun._ Leia's presence withdrew before it vanished. He had expected that, but he still missed her.

Mara stirred on the bed and realized he was gone. "Luke?" She lifted up, finding him in the room only lit by the refracted light from the polluted clouds. "What is it?"

"Leia's in the system. She's on her way here." He moved back to his side of the bed, so their talking wouldn't wake Korora.

Mara rolled over to face him. "Is she bringing the New Republic Navy?"

"Probably not."

"What is with your family not wanting a proper-sized force to deal with a threat?"

"No one wants to thwart your fun of blowing this place up." He leaned over and kissed her softly. "Are you up for it?"

"I will be." Her eyelids dropped again.

"Go back to sleep; I'll pack what we need to take with us." Dawn wasn't that far off and Korora always woke early, he might as well stay awake. Mara's breathing evened out again and he headed to the closet. He packed all of Korora's clothes Mara had bought and the Imperials had given them. They didn't have anything stored on the _Falcon_ in her size. Korora would get on the freighter, but he'd have to leave it in Mara's capable hands. The Force felt like his part of the battle was away from the woman and child he had come to love so much. He left out the lavender jumpsuit and jacket for Korora to wear today.

He packed less for Mara, just the clothes he remembered her buying to replace her destroyed wardrobe. Though in a round about way, the Imperials owed Mara clothes. But packing lighter gave her less to carry. If they made it off Byss, he was gifting her with a fancy dress for the opera. No matter how much the price made him choke. He set out Mara's jumpsuit next. It looked roomy enough in the torso. He glanced at her sleeping form as worry crept into his thoughts. The fetus was dying and taking its toll on her body. He knew what she was capable of, better than anyone else in the galaxy, but she was hurting so much. Han and Chewie will keep her safe. They had to.

He didn't need any of the black trousers and tunics the Imperials had given him—Han had demanded Luke keep spare clothing in the _Falcon_ during the war and he hadn't stopped—but he considered the blue tunic Mara had bought him. She had liked how he had looked in blue, and she had bought it. No point leaving it behind when it meant something to both of them. He got dressed in it.

Korora woke up and headed straight to the 'fresher while he was cooking breakfast. She saw the packed duffel bags when she exited. "Are we leaving today?" She ran straight to Luke and jumped up and down. "We're leaving?"

He caught her and set her on the stool. "Listen to me very carefully. We're leaving today, but the Imperials are going to try to stop us. And they'll separate us."

Her brown eyes widened. "They gonna put you in a box again?"

Box? Oh, she meant the zero-g holding cell that held him on the four-day ride to Byss. "I'm not going to let them put me in the box again, okay?" She nodded, still looking concerned. "Don't worry about that. You're going to stay with Mommy and stay with whoever she tells you to go with if she has to leave. You'll be safe and you'll leave Byss with whoever we tell you to go with, okay?"

"Okay."

Luke kissed her forehead. "Breakfast, Akku, then you get dressed."

"Save some for me." Mara eased out of the bed and headed to the table. "I'm starving this morning."

"How are you feeling?" Luke set the eggs and sausage in front of Korora before reaching for a second plate.

"Functional." She glanced at the medical droid next to the bed. "And the sensor readings are normal."

Functional was a step above the vomiting she had done yesterday. And the slicing Artoo had done to the sensors kept the medical droid from sounding the alarm. She looked wan under her freckles, but her glare threatened him if he brought that up. "Good." He passed her the filled plate.

Korora stared at Mara's hair. "Fix my hair like yours, Mommy."

"Daddy did this. Have fun. What's the plan?"

Luke sat down with his breakfast. "You're in charge of Han and Chewie while Leia and I distract Sidious."

"Do they know I'm in charge?"

"I'm sure it won't take them long to figure it out." He grinned. "I have one request." She raised her red-gold eyebrows. "Don't forget to rescue Kam," he said.

"He gets a ride as long as he makes himself useful."

Korora finished eating first and didn't complain about the jumpsuit he left out. After she was dressed, she sat patiently while Luke worked the hair oil through her black curls. "It's not going to look exactly like Mommy's. Your hair's not long enough."

"Can we make it longer?"

"It has to grow."

Mara left the 'fresher moving easily in the snug jumpsuit. She sat down at the table again, and smiled. If the Force was with them all, she would smile at future domestic scenarios. He tied off Korora's short braid and wiped his hands clean on a towel when the room's door slid open. An Imperial Sovereign Protector stepped inside while his partner waited in the corridor. "Come with us, Jedi Skywalker."

"Just a moment." He kissed Korora's cheek before he lifted Mara from the chair. _So they'll report you're still bedridden_ , he explained through the bond.

 _Say hi to your sister for me._

Artoo came around the bed whistling quickly as Luke set Mara down on it. The droid wanted Luke armed; Luke got that much. "It's all right, Artoo. I have the Force." Artoo buzzed disrespectfully at him. "Stay with Mara."

The droid moaned as Luke left the room.

The Imperial Sovereign Protectors escorted Luke to the throne room, and Leia's bright presence grew stronger the closer he moved toward her. Two humans stood on the main floor not far from one of the deactivated spherical cages inside the throne room. Who was it waiting for, him or Leia? She turned when they entered, wearing a white jumpsuit similar to the one she wore back on Hoth, but with a brown leather jacket over it. The other man present was older, in his forties probably. His red hair had a touch of gray at the temples. His youth did not disguise his malignant darkness in the Force. Sidious had told Mara of moving to multiple bodies when he wore them out. His Force signature certainly felt the same.

Luke headed to his sister but registered that the Imperial Sovereign Protectors did not follow him inside the throne room. "Hello Leia, welcome to Byss. Wore another body out already, your Highness?"

The younger Palpatine brought his hand up as if to shoot Force Lightning, but changed the gesture to a dismissive wave. "See, your insolent brother alive and well. Though I make no promises of his continuing good health if he persists in speaking."

Leia nodded. "How's Mara, Luke?"

"On bed rest, thanks to the Emperor's experiment. She says hello too."

"Your concern for my agent is touching, but misguided. Much like your Rebellion." Sidious turned his back on them, heading to the stairs up to the throne.

"The more you tighten your grip, the more systems will slip through your fingers." Sidious' black robe swished in the cavernous throne room but the sound was drowned out by Leia's impassioned tone as he turned. "Tarkin didn't understand that either. You continue on this path and all you will rule is a galaxy of bones and ashes."

"Such a gift for words. Your mother was quite the orator as well." Leia's political mask cracked, and her hunger for more information about their birth mother was evident in her excitement. Sidious pounced on it. "Ah, the Jedi didn't bother sharing information about your mother with you, either of you. Only concerned with Anakin's legacy. I knew her well. She was a protégé of mine during the Old Republic."

It was the same trap he had sprang on Luke in that first meeting, and it ached worse because he had no stories of Padmé to fill the void. "And why should we trust anything you have to say about our mother, your Highness?"

"Because I am the one who lied to you both your entire lives. Of course, you shouldn't trust me." Sidious strode up the stairs to the throne.

But the spell was broke and Leia sent gratitude to Luke. "That's not what I'm here for," she began.

"No, you're only here to sue for peace and your brother's release," Sidious sneered as his sunken eyes gleamed. "And while you're hoping to distract me, your forces are waging war below with X-1 Viper droids." He settled onto the throne and pressed one of the armrest controls. The viewscreen to Luke's left changed from the false window showing a sky view to a city street view at the base of the Citadel. The curved bodied droids resembled a giant Kubindi sun-beetle, but the machines lumbered quickly on their rear legs. The middle appendages ended in blaster cannons that sprayed the street defenses with returning fire. Blasts that hit them didn't make a dint in the armor.

Leia glanced at Luke. _He wasn't supposed to be ready for that._

"Let's see how they fare against my chrysalis rancors." Sidious pressed the comm channel. "General, unleash the countermeasure against the Rebel forces."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Akku: I borrowed the Amatakka term for sweetheart from Fialleril since endearments were not pretty in Huttese. Amatakka is the language she's building for her Tatooine Slave Culture.


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

Korora spun on the stool to face Mara. "Daddy said he wasn't going to let them put him back in the box!"

"He's not going to the box." Mara swung her legs out of the bed. The astromech rolled to the main door and hurled Binary expletives at it before spinning in a circle with a worried moan. "They're taking him to his sister." Pain blossomed in Mara's abdomen. She pulled on the Force to suppress the pain and ignored the ache that emerged in her head. The mission was here and now, and the Force better get her body in line with the plan. The cramp faded away. There were so many previous missions this Force technique would have been useful on; she needed to tell Luke he was a good teacher as soon as she saw him again.

 _If,_ Byss' despair whispered back at her.

She gritted her teeth. _I don't fail._ She opened her eyes to see Korora looking worriedly at her. Back to not worrying the child. "Where's your bantha? We don't want to leave it."

The little girl slid off the stool and headed to her cot. Artoo's moan broke into an alarmed squeal as he retreated into the room. She couldn't blame the droid because two human men, a Wookiee, and two Noghri didn't stop charging into the room until she stood. They all had ysalamiri frames strapped to their backs; the ones Chin had designed as most comfortable for the little lizards and bipeds.

Solo had a lopsided smile when he stopped as his hazel eyes took in the layout. "I'd just like to point out that when the New Republic arrested you, Jade, you rated a suite with multiple rooms."

"Really, Solo?" Karrde unwound a belt with a blaster pistol already in the holster from his shoulder. "Thought you'd appreciate this."

Mara gave him a gentle smile as she fastened the belt around her waist, making sure it was snug over her abdomen's bulge but not too tight. "Thanks, you're still my favorite boss. But I'm afraid the ship is a loss." She stepped back to remain out of the ysalamiri's bubble of non-Force-access.

"Ships are expendable; people are not."

Chewbacca tilted his head and called out softly as he saw Korora peek over the edge of the bed. She noticed the attention on her and ducked again.

"It's all right," Mara coaxed. "These are Mommy and Daddy's friends. They're here to help. You don't have to be afraid." Korora peeked again, then dashed around the bed to seize Mara's leg. "Everyone, this is Korora."

"Mommy." Karrde raised an eloquent eyebrow.

"Daddy?" Solo's smirk deepened.

"Watch it, Uncle Han," Mara said, ignoring how the stuffed bantha shoved against her legs.

One of the Noghri, the more familiar of the two, gestured for silence with a sharp hiss. He and his partner turned to the door, turning everyone else's focus to it as well. It slid open and the Noghri had Solusar yanked inside and his neck locked in an arm before he could yelp. Mara winced; she remembered just how effective that choke hold was.

Solo leaned closer to her. "Hyon?" He asked softly in Olys Corellisi.

She responded in the same language. "Via buliono-Ehin-leg ai nov formo re elshari." At least now, they wouldn't waste time looking for him. She had planned to since she more or less promised Luke to save him.

Solusar craned his head back to take the pressure off his windpipe. "I came to tell you security is in an uproar over an attack on the ground."

"Lando and the Rogues got those droids working then," Han said.

"Now would be a good time to escape." Solusar finished and sighed. "Which you have clearly started already."

Mara spoke briskly, hoping that Solusar would ignore the child clinging to her leg. "Time to choose a side, Kam Solusar. Save the galaxy from a new Sith Empire or—"

The man jolted against the grip that the Noghri had on him, trying to stand upright but quickly gave up. "We need the Jedi artifacts to rebuild the order. I can get them."

She remembered how Luke spoke of the missing knowledge before and how he looked and felt when he couldn't touch what Solusar had called holocrons. For Luke's sake, they couldn't leave those artifacts here. "Okay, Solo, you, Chewbacca and one of the Noghri go with him and get as much as you can carry out. I'll rig this place to blow taking all the clones with it. Karrde, take Korora back to the ship."

Korora squeezed her leg tighter. "No, Mommy, stay with you, please."

Mara gently prised Korora loose and knelt down in front of her. "We all have a job to do to get out of here. You need to go with Captain Karrde and make sure the ship is ready for us to leave as soon as we all get on board. It'll be okay."

"You're going to get Daddy."

"Knowing your Daddy, that's probably where I'll end up." Mara scooped her up and kissed her cheek before handing her over to Karrde, who took her gingerly. "Be good and listen to Captain Karrde. The go bags are in the closet behind you."

Karrde frowned as he grabbed the duffel bags with his free hand. "Mara, you don't look like you're up for a prolonged conflict."

"I won't take long." Her tone sounded flippant, but she met Karrde's gaze seriously. "Sidious, Palpatine has clones of himself here. They all must be destroyed or this—" she waved a hand to indicate all of Byss— "starts all over again."

"Take Ekhrikhor with you," Solo said.

The familiar Noghri was one of the group that had followed them to Wayland. She didn't want to insult the Noghri pride or their mission to eradicate the government that subjugated them or alarm Karrde and Solo by mentioning the Force users guarding the clones. Not to mention she worked best alone. "It's just blowing up clones and that'll start a chain reaction obliterating the Citadel. Protecting Korora is more important." She looked at Ekhrikhor holding Solusar. "The Emperor Reborn is a clone of Palpatine, and he would enslave her like he did us. And Skywalker claims her as a daughter, if your people have the same concept?"

He dipped his head. "We do. She will be guarded same as the children of the Mal'ary'ush. Akh'laht, go with Han clan Solo." He let Solusar go to take one of the bags from Karrde, then led the way out the door. Korora didn't say anything as she stared back over Karrde's shoulder.

Mara told the pang in her chest that no matter what happened, the galaxy would end up safer for Korora tomorrow. She spun to Artoo. "I need Luke's lightsaber so cough it up." Artoo rudely told her no in Binary. "I don't know why he didn't take it, but I swear I'll give it back to him as soon as the clones are destroyed." Artoo moaned but slid open a blue panel in his dome top and raised the lightsaber hilt so she could grasp it.

"You've been armed this whole time?" Solusar gaped at her. "And you didn't fight your way free before now?"

She hung the lightsaber against her left hip. "Luke probably has some Jedi aphorism that makes it pretty, but basically you don't attack without as much recon as you can do before. Now go get those Jedi artifacts, and I'd appreciate it if you get my lightsaber back." Han only shook his head as he, Chewbacca, and Akh'laht followed Solusar into the corridor.

A cramp tried to rip through her uterus. She closed her eyes and called on the Force again. She didn't need the distraction, and Luke most definitely didn't need the distraction. She opened her eyes again when her body felt stable and headed out the door. The sentry droid was a smoking hunk of metal. The headache throb eased as she moved away from the prison room. Artoo rolled behind her as she headed to the turbolifts. "You should probably get to the _Falcon_."

He trilled at her. She recognized 'Luke' but none of the rest of the Binary. He had told the droid to stay with her. "Fine, whatever. Keep up or get left behind." He rolled into the waiting turbolift with her.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** "Hyon" means who. "Via buliono-Ehin-leg ai nov formo re elshari" translates to "Your brother-in-law's newest reform project." In my headcanon, Mara was taught Olys Corellisi as part of her Hand training and relies on it working for Karrde. Translation was provided by the Coruscant Translator; I will never stop singing the praises for this program.

"Lando and the Rogues got those droids working then" — _Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Droids_ said Lando and Wedge Antilles were in charge of the X-1 Viper droids attack. I went ahead and expanded it to all the Rogues because they keep coming up in the narrative.


	25. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

It was odd traveling with these allies of Jade and Skywalker. The Force was consistently out of reach when Kam stood next to General Solo and the two aliens, but he didn't feel the same throbbing headache like around the Force dampeners. Still for the Citadel being under attack, the Imperial Sovereign Protectors and stormtroopers hadn't increased patrols. They made it to the museum of Force items unmolested. "Everything inside is protected by alarms and I don't have the security clearance to override them." He explained as the tall doors slid open in front of them.

Solo pursed his lips as he studied the room. "Jade should have given us a few boxes for all this stuff." The Wookiee growled out a response. Solo nodded and holstered his heavy blaster pistol. "Cutting their power will work as long as they're not programed to respond when the power's off. Let's see what we're working with here." They turned to the access panel in the wall near the door. The small, gray-skinned alien aimed his blaster rifle at the doorway. It didn't take long for the human and Wookiee to remove the panel with the tools they had stashed in their belts.

Kam moved away. Maybe a storage cabinet had something to carry the holocrons and lightsabers in. About halfway through the room, he felt the Force return and with the deeper awareness flared an alarm. The display case holding the _Jedi Path_ book tore off its supporting legs and flew towards the door. "Duck!" He threw himself toward the wall of lightsabers.

The display case hit the metal wall with a thud before dropping to the carpeted floor. The alarm attached to that display wailed. Solo lifted his head off the floor where he and the Wookiee had dodged. He peered into the case with a puzzled frown. "Who in hells is throwing books at us?"

A lightsaber ignited drawing attention to the open door to the Sith artifact room. "I don't want to damage my Master's prizes." The Dark Side Elite with spiky black hair strode into the room with a red lightsaber in his grip. "You let Skywalker into your head, Solusar. I'm afraid Darth Sidious cannot condone that, nor your siding with traitors." Sedriss pointed at Kam with his lightsaber.

Kam climbed to his feet and reached his hand into the lightsaber tray. The leather-wrapped hilt pulsed in his grip. He activated the amber blade of his father's lightsaber and settled into a guard stance to protect the gentlebeings behind him. "Save your lies, Sedriss. I remember everything you tortured out of me." Sedriss charged forward. Kam met him halfway and blocked the sweep of the red lightsaber.

"Don't worry about the alarms, Chewie; grab everything you can!" Solo yelled. The Wookiee roared his agreement and more alarms joined the one already blaring.

Sedriss dodged among the holocron pedestals, obviously intent on circling Kam to stop the others. Kam intercepted him while Solo and the Wookiee grabbed lightsaber hilts from the wall. The red lightsaber slashed over the holocron but Kam ducked and rolled, ending up with the amber blade in front of the Dark Sider. Sedriss snarled and batted at it, but Kam met every blow.

The red blade sliced through a pedestal, luckily missing the irreplaceable holocron on top of it though it slid to the floor along with the metal . But Sedriss' shock that he had miscalculated gave Kam the opportunity to press the attack. He forced Sedriss back into the clear space of the room near the wall of lightsabers. He remembered his training here on Byss, which had honed the early lessons his father had given him. The only advantage Sedriss had over Kam's dueling was the Executor was trusted to have a lightsaber. How many people had Sedriss tortured into joining the Emperor Reborn? The red and amber blades snapped as they collided.

Sedriss jumped back toward the open door into the next room. His free hand reached up. One of the lightsaber display trays high on the wall tore free and hurtled toward Kam. He jumped up to meet it and the amber lightsaber cut the tray in half. Lightsaber hilts rained down to the floor. Sedriss retreated to the doorway. Kam paused and stretched out with the Force. The dodecahedral holocron in the center of the room rose off its pedestal followed by the smaller cubical holocrons between him and the central one. Once he had a good grasp on them, Kam sent them to Solo and the others. Then he ran after Sedriss.

The Sith library enveloped Kam's mind in thick darkness bearing down on him. He staggered but remembered how Luke's family created love and laughter and never pushed him away from that. He remembered the love he had for his own mother and father. The darkness became a shadow to step through.

Sedriss swept the artifacts off the wall of shelves. Kam slashed the air in front of him as the boxes and objects moved toward him. The Dark objects screamed as the lightsaber cleaved them. Sedriss charged but Kam kicked him back into a laboratory table. Chemicals spilled and began to smoke.

Sedriss rolled off the table and overturned it. Kam jumped back from the broken beakers and the smoking chemicals. "Do you really think they'll accept you, Solusar? With everything you've done for the Emperor Reborn?"

"They already have." He balanced the lightsaber in front of him in a guard position. "And I'm ready to serve the galaxy to make up for what I have done and what I never stopped you from doing."

"You don't have the power to stop me." Sedriss raised his lightsaber over his head and ran forward while he drove it down. Kam dropped to his knees and stabbed upward. Sedriss stopped with a lurch. Kam continued the cut as he stood up, diagonally cutting his opponent from waist to Sedriss' left shoulder. The body dropped with a thud once Kam deactivated his father's lightsaber.

He staggered back to the Jedi artifact room and blinked at the heavy blaster pistol and the bowcaster aimed at him. "The other guy dead?" General Solo demanded. Kam nodded. "Who's Darth Sidious?" he continued.

"Palpatine," Kam answered.

The pistol went back to its holster. "Should've guessed that. How many names does he need? Force grab the rest of these will you?" He grabbed two glowing cubes with his free hands. They had most of them already, leaving about a dozen of the small cubes for Kam to gather. Solo grabbed them out of the air and put them into the book's display case, which the Wookiee held like a crate.

The Noghri shot his blaster rifle down the corridor before ducking back into the room. "Forces are converging on this location, Han clan Solo."

"Luke and Leia, where are they?" Solo stared at Kam.

Kam stopped in the center of the room, where he could still feel the Force. He reached out for Luke's bright presence which had grown familiar over the two weeks he had been kept in the Citadel. It was magnified by the presence of his twin sister. "They're in the throne room with Palpatine."

"Okay, we're going there next. Don't like the idea of Luke in there without a weapon." Solo glanced at the lightsaber clipped to Kam's belt. "Can you do Luke's trick of deflecting blaster bolts?"

"I haven't had much practice with live opponents," Kam answered honestly. "But I need the Force. However are you managing to block it?"

"Okay, we'll hang back," Solo answered.

Kam nodded as he took the lead position through the door with his father's lightsaber in his hand. The Noghri's expression was unreadable to him as the smaller alien moved back. Nor did he register in the Force while Kam had it inside the chamber. The Force slipped out of reach as Kam moved through the doorway, but returned once he reached the hallway.

The stormtroopers down the corridor took aim, not caring about the priceless contents surrounding them. Kam felt the calmness of the Force and ignited his lightsaber. The amber glow slashed through the air. Blaster bolts whizzed past him and stormtroopers caught them in their armored chest. One caught a bolt so hard he flew back. Soon they all dropped to the floor.

"That worked better than anticipated," Solo said. Kam whirled around to see the other three lowering their weapons. "Which way to the throne room?"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Jedi with lightsaber keeps us from getting hit and we can blast the stormtroopers: I have no idea if any other EU writers have ever used that as a battle technique, but it struck me as a very Han move to try.


	26. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

The turbolift doors slid open and Artoo rolled out into the corridor, whistling and beeping as loud as his speakers allowed. The droid rolled straight to the pair of Imperial Sovereign Protectors guarding the only door across from the turbolift and nudged the closest one. The guards saw the back of a woman crumpled on the floor of the turbolift. They cautiously approached, one in the lead and his partner guarding his back.

The first one knelt next to her and rolled her over onto her back. Mara jammed the lightsaber hilt into his torso between the joints of his armor plating. The green blade shot out his back and slid through his side as she pushed it across.

Artoo jammed his arc welder into the thigh of the second Imperial Sovereign Protector and the shock caused his leg to buckle and his attention jerked back to the droid with a yell. Mara pivoted on her knees, jumped to her feet, and continued the lightsaber's swing across the second guard's body.

She shut off the lightsaber and stepped over the bodies. Her lower back ached from that bit on the lift floor. She stretched to ease it before she looked down at the droid, who was beeping smugly. "So you'll follow the plan as long as you get to zap somebody. Good to know." She retrieved the security key from the guard's belt and opened the door.

They entered an empty control room. Half of it looked dedicated to the functioning of the biological equipment beyond the windows. The other half had data streams focused on the war outside the Citadel. One viewscreen focused on green rancors ripping apart an armored vehicle, while the other showed a view of Mon Cal's ocean and huge columns of water being lifted into the air.

Mara pointed to that side. "You should be able to hijack the signal to the World Devastators from there if it has a live feed." Artoo beeped affirmatively. "Get them off New Republic planets and make them attack the Sith forces." Artoo trilled happily and rolled over to that side of the room. She left him to it and headed to the next set of doors.

Her danger sense flared right before they slid open ahead of a black robed humanoid who screamed as he charged with a red-bladed lightsaber. She spun out of his way and ignited Luke's lightsaber as she faced him again. His scream ended as it went through his lungs. Her danger sense lowered its level of intensity to evacuate rather than peril. She focused beyond that. More life forms ahead, but none that seemed mobile. She waited for another guard to pop into view while her abdomen muscles tensed for another cramp. It didn't develop or the pain-blocking Force technique was still in effect.

The next room had a lower floor than the control room and the overhead lighting had been dimmed so that the glow from the illuminated cloning tanks lit the metal grated floor between them. Ten tanks were arranged into two rows and a clear aisle to the nutrient generator against the back wall. The clones floating inside seemed to be arranged in a staircase of ages: the youngest in the tanks closest to the steps she came down and the oldest—a mature male in his thirties with red hair untouched by gray—floated in the tank to the right of the nutrient generator. A familiar face to the haggard and wrinkled face that raised her, that lied to her, that stole children to warp them, that put this parasite inside her, that engineered terror here and spread it across the galaxy with his World Devastators. He had claimed to have hair like hers when he was younger. So there was something he hadn't lied about. Her hand tightened on the lightsaber as she turned away from that tank. The tank across from him on the left was empty. Mara frowned at that, but brightened when she saw the toolbox on the floor. Now that gave her options. She clipped the lightsaber to her belt.

Her first plan had been to wreck the tanks and then tweak the atmospheric controls to make the air more flammable, which was risky for escaping. She dug into the tool box and pulled out a spanner, wire strippers, and pliers. She would need to sacrifice the power pack of her blaster, but she had the supplies to turn the generator into a bomb with a slower rate of detonation. It had been years since she'd handcrafted a bomb. Thermal detonators were easier, but when one didn't have a thermal detonator, one had to improvise. The generator's panel came off easily and she delved into its innards.

While Mara worked on stripping wires, she sought out Luke through the bond. He was focused on his situation, buoyed by his sister's presence, disgusted and angry over something Sidious had orchestrated. Situation normal then.

She pulled the power cell from the heavy blaster pistol. Her danger sense spiked. She twisted to look behind her. The body on the floor hadn't moved out of the doorway and the door out of the control room was still closed. She scrutinized her work on the generator. Nothing wrong with the wiring. This design left a fifteen minute window before exploding. Plenty of time to leave and catch up with the Skywalker twins. It wasn't fair for them to have all the fun of beating Sidious.

But first before making the final connections, she turned and shouted through the tank room. "Artoo, are you finished?" The droid trilled in the affirmative. "Okay, I'm making the final connections and then we're out of here." She carefully lodged the power cell between the generator's support frame and the motor. The stripped wires coiled around the cell's output matrix and an assembly bolt finished the connection. She dropped the pliers next to the spanner on the floor as she stood. No need to be careful with evidence on this mission.

Her foot landed on the first step back up to the control room when her danger sense all but yanked her by the arm and jerked her around. The oldest clone's eyes were open and staring at her. "Shavit," she whispered. Familiar adrenaline made her heart pound and shortened her breaths.

The clone raised his hand and the tank shattered spilling the tank water through the grates in the floor. The lightsaber on the floor shot through the air to his waiting palm. His lips twisted up in a thin smile. "My…" his voice grew stronger. "My Hand."

Her jumbled emotions threatened to overwhelm her like a wave at sea and pull her under with a hidden current. The title she had worked so hard for and had yearned so long for said brokenly from a clone of the monster who tried to break her with her loyalty and duty and who was breaking the galaxy right now.

That realization dropped a force field of calm determination around her. Luke's lightsaber fit her hand, even though the grip was different she liked how it felt. "Not anymore. Consider this my official resignation." The smile vanished from his face like it had never been attempted. She activated the lightsaber and the green blade illuminated the lurking shadows. "You want to destroy the galaxy, Sidious, you have to go through me."

The clone growled and lit the red lightsaber. He rushed forward swinging it. She parried the slash without thinking about it and sent both blades into one of the clone tanks on the left. The clari-crystalline of the tank shattered, soaking both combatants.

The clone stepped back, but didn't lower his lightsaber. Mara waited for his next move, wishing her last sparring session with Luke wasn't twenty-three days ago. Her balance was stable; the fetus wasn't heavy enough to throw it off. She ignored the ticks of the timer in her head. The clone swung toward Mara's left. She blocked the red blade and shoved with the Force. He lost his footing on the metal grating and landed against an occupied cloning tank, cracking the clari-crystalline.

Mara ran forward. He blocked her green blade, but she continued pushing forward until the cracks shattered and dug into the clone's bare back.

He cried out from the pain and shoved her back. She ducked to the side. Her instinctive returning swing pushed him off balance again. Sidious' clone staggered into another tank. His shoulder didn't break this one. Mara sliced open the barrier as he ducked her second swing. She got around in front of him while the tank solution poured out on him. She panted heavily as she watched for his next move.

The clone stepped back out of the liquid and glanced at the modified generator. Another adrenaline surge blotted out the twist in her abdomen. He couldn't interfere with her bomb. Mara charged.

He parried her blow, but she shifted her stance and used her momentum to shove her opponent into another intact cloning tank. The clari-crystalline shattered around the clone's sword arm and rivulets of blood covered it. The body hung from the wires and feeding tubes as the liquid cascaded out. How had she known to do that? It wasn't a move she had practiced, but she had known to do it without thinking about it.

The clone pushed off the shattered remains of the tank and swung at her again. She planted her feet with the same precision she would for a ballet and twisted her torso with a back bend, evading the blade. He staggered to catch up with his over-extended reach. She slipped the green blade under his arms and across his torso. The clone's body hit the metal floor in two meaty thumps. The red lightsaber turned itself off as it clattered against the metal grating.

Mara inhaled deeply before the squeeze under her stomach made it hard to breathe. She staggered up the steps. "Artoo, we have to go now!" The cramp eased as she crossed the control room. The droid rolled to the door first, whistling for the human to hurry.

The blast caught her in the center of the corridor and slammed her against a metal wall.


	27. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

The throne room viewscreen showed the chrysalis rancors lumbering into the street filled with laser bolts between the New Republic battle droids and the Imperial defenses. The creatures were shaped like rancors only their skin, claws, horns, and teeth were all colored an unnatural emerald green. The lead one leaped on top of the first X-1 Viper droid. Claws met metal so hard sparks shot away from the combatants. They sank into the plating and gouged the metal. The rest of the creatures piled onto the droid. Luke reached out with his senses to the battle below the Citadel. The Viper droids had controllers and most of them were familiar human minds. He didn't brush against the Rogue Squadrons' minds and distract them from the task they had. One recognized his droid was dying under the creatures' attack and activated his escape pod.

Luke turned his awareness to the creatures. They resembled the rancors from Dathomir but twisted with pain, hate, and despair. "What did you do to those poor creatures?" he asked as he pulled his attention back to Darth Sidious and turned to the man on the throne.

Sidious' raised his eyebrows over his sunken eyes. "Do I detect disapproval? I improved them with the power of the Dark Side, the power you repeatedly deny."

He remembered the starved rancor in Jabba's Palace and how the species thrived on Dathomir. "If you feed them and treat them kindly, they'll do just about anything you ask of them."

"You are a fool, Skywalker. An Outer Rim provincial who still does not see the truth. I rule the galaxy; I have foreseen it."

An alarm wailed nearby, echoing through the immense corridors that surrounded the throne room. Luke raised his eyebrow. "I see you're still over-confident that everything will go as you have foreseen it."

Sidious glared at Leia who gazed up at him calmly. "The work of your thieving husband no doubt."

Leia shrugged. "You'll have to ask him. He usually has a good reason for what he does."

"Believe me, I shall," Sidious snarled. "How hard will you beg for his life this time, Princess? Will you degrade yourself again like you did for that miserable Hutt?"

"You didn't make a habit of putting prisoners in dancer outfits before your death. Has that changed?" Leia turned back to the viewscreen footage of the battle.

The alarm continued to wail. Luke's bond with Mara reverberated with her dismay and her determination that answered it. Sidious' focus traveled from the throne room and his jaw dropped. Cold rage cascaded from the throne and drew Leia's attention back. Sidious glared at Luke. "How? How do you turn my most loyal agents against me? They are mine!"

"I only show them that they are people with a choice, not tools to discard once their usefulness has ended."

Sidious' frown deepened, carving savage lines around his lips and chin as he stood. Luke gazed unflinchingly at that soundless snarl. Sidious' hands reached out and blue lightning leapt from the claw-like fingers. Before the sparks hit Luke's body, a blue blade intercepted them. The blue-white light highlighted the wrinkles becoming crags on Sidious' face.

Leia held her lightsaber between the two men. "You're not hitting my brother with Force lightning this time."

Sidious reached the floor, strode away from the steps, and slipped a lightsaber hilt out from under his robe. Leia shifted her guard stance to face the Sith Lord. An explosion rocked the whole Citadel, but not strong enough to knock them off their feet.

Pain radiated along Luke's left side like he had been slammed into a wall, but it faded quickly. He reached out through the bond. Mara was out cold. What had happened to her?

Blaster fire sounded in the corridor outside the throne room. The doors slid open spilling Kam, Han, Chewie, and one of the Noghri inside. Han brightened when he saw Leia and Luke. "Luke!" He tossed a silver cylinder into the air.

Luke called the lightsaber to his hand. His father's lightsaber, the first one he had ever touched, countless hours drilling with the remote to be the Jedi the Alliance needed; a blade lost, found, and given away with friendship and hope. He ignited the lineal device and matched Leia's guard stance.

Sidious ignited his red-bladed lightsaber. Blaster fire erupted at the throne room door, but neither Luke nor Leia diverted their attention to it. The red blade slashed but Leia easily blocked it. She pivoted the attack to Luke. He pressed the advantage, forcing Sidious back as the blaster bolts began firing inside the throne room. They all intercepted blaster shots that reached them between lightsaber clashes.

Another explosion rocked the building, closer to the throne room. Sidious took advantage of their unsure footing to shove his opponents with the Force. Leia fell to her knee and hand. Luke tottered back. Sidious' swirling black robes disappeared under the throne dais stairs.

Luke remembered hiding under that on the second Death Star and stumbled after him, regaining his footing as the Sith Lord vanished down a trapdoor lift. Another explosion moved closer as Luke emerged from under the stairs.

"Secret door?" Leia asked as Han reached them.

"Secret door," Luke said. A new explosion felt like three going off in quick succession. Luke stepped back out of the Force null bubble the ysalamir Han wore on his back created. Mara's groggy awareness at the other end of the bond coalesced into satisfied regret. "Get to the _Falcon_. I've got to get Mara."

Han ducked slightly, even though the explosion didn't knock anything loose in the throne room. "This is her doing? I thought she was being metaphorical."

"She's the explosives expert in the family." Luke reached out with the Force for the remote that controlled the cage. It flew down from the throne to his hand. Then he sprinted to the cage, blue lightsaber slicing through all the bars, and Force shoving the superfluous metal out of the way. The remote controlled the repulsors. The bond showed him the way to Mara.

The others had already cleared the doors and moved down the cavernous corridor to the hangar bays. He sat on the platform, braced against the stumps of the bars, and pushed the generator as fast as it could go. He sent it shooting over the head of the stormtroopers running into the corridor before they had a chance to draw aim on him.


	28. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

Mara groaned as she woke. That was sloppy but the explosions moving further away from her area covered her noise. The left side of her head throbbed, no, her whole left side hurt. No broken bones though, but her whole body felt hot. Her arm joints were stiff from colliding with a wall but she could move. And the Force gift she called danger sense was yelling at her to flee and was now louder than it ever had been before. She cracked open her eyes as she pushed up.

Flames crackled around her, blocking escape through the corridor in both directions. The turbolift had a piece of shrapnel as large as she was wedged through the doors. The bottom half of the lift had fallen away, leaving an empty shaft to her right. The clone tank room was a mass of fire beyond her legs. Her Force senses confirmed no life existed in that blaze. Death surrounded her, her danger sense confirmed that, but death now awaited Sidious. That was the outcome she wanted. The galaxy would be safe once Luke finished with him. Artoo sprayed a fire suppressant foam on the flames creeping closer to her and moaned.

She coughed, but it wasn't hard to breath yet. Air at least was coming up the turbolift shaft. "You're in one functional piece?"

The droid beeped affirmatively before adding more in Binary. She thought it was their chances if they remained here. She dragged herself closer to the turbolift opening and peered into its shadows. No handholds presented themselves in the smooth shaft walls. Another explosion went off, further away from her and Artoo but close enough to shake wall panels loose in the corridor beyond the fire. Great, she had made sure the awake clone couldn't stop her makeshift incendiary device, had succeeded in destroying all the clones and the Citadel, and had left herself no escape route to return to Luke and Korora. "At least I have the minor satisfaction of knowing I did it to myself," she told her regret. She looked back at the droid who had rolled closer to her. "I hope this makes us even for the whole Myrkr thing."

Artoo moaned again. She couldn't figure out what he meant with that sound. But when stabbing pain pulled her back down to the floor, she didn't care what the droid had just said. She gasped for air and for the Force to suppress the pain again. It ebbed, so she sat up and looked at Artoo. "I need to record a message to Luke."

He turned his dome so the holographic projector was trained on her. She took a deep breath. "This didn't go according to plan. One of the clones broke free and got a lightsaber and I had to stop him before he stopped my bomb." The words poured out of her, reinforced by her years of training in reporting to someone and a fierce need for Luke not to blame himself for her mistakes. She was the expendable one: too damaged to keep up physically and emotionally. "The bomb had to go here in the cloning chamber because I couldn't let those things loose to kill more people no matter what uniform their victims wear. I'm okay with this, greater good for the galaxy and all that. It was my choice."

An explosion interrupted her train of thought. Luke was suppressing his panic with fierce determination that she had no idea matched her own. "I love you." Shavit, she had been a coward not to say it to his face before now. "I do, Farmboy, you and Korora." Tears built in her eyes and she couldn't blame them on the smoke. It wasn't a weakness to cry—another lie she had been taught as truth. She had to tell Luke everything she hadn't dared tell him before. "Thank you for loving me, for giving me something real that I don't deserve." The tears spilled down her cheeks but she smiled for Luke. She loved him and wanted him happy. "Don't sacrifice your love on my account. Go find someone to be the mother Korora needs and the lover you deserve, Luke."

Artoo squawked at her.

"Wait, Anor could leave a message with you threatening Luke without a peep but I get commentary?"

It sounded like Artoo repeated the same thing at her again but louder this time.

"Oh come off it, I know that's why you don't approve of me. Why you have never approved of me. Former Imperial assassin who wanted to kill him and Jedi hero of the galaxy; not even the holodramas would script something so pathetically absurd. He deserves so much better than me. I love him and wish that for him." The flames jumped higher and smoke roiled off one of the bodies in the corridor. She gagged and another explosion rocked the corridor. The floor heaved under them, but didn't collapse. "You better go. Get to the _Falcon_."

The droid told her no in Binary before spraying the flames with more foam. It wasn't making a dent in the fire. She laid down on the floor away from the smoke filling the hallway. Her cramps were back and throbbing as she felt a clot slide out of her and get caught in her basics. Her lower back ache returned as well. It matched the cramps rather than the bruises along her left side. She concentrated on the Force technique blocking pain to push the cramp away from her awareness. It receded and she hoped it would stay away for longer. Luke didn't need the distraction of her pain. She reached through the bond to check on him, and his bright shining presence in the Force was **here**. She lifted her head to see Luke rise inside the turbolift shaft. Artoo gave a happy squeal.

"Mara!" he shouted as he scrambled onto the floor. His relief at finding her engulfed her. For the first time she wasn't expendable, not to him. Tears blurred her vision again. He was safe and he came for her.

"Get on the lift, Artoo." He rolled her onto her back in his arms and lifted her with his muscles and the Force. She wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders, despite the sharp protest from her left shoulder. He carried her onto a repulsorlift platform inside the shaft, sat down cross-legged next to short metal bars around the edge, and pressed his forehead against hers as he grappled with his heady relief. "I'm here." He murmured before kissing her wet cheek.

Another explosion shook the shaft around them. Mara's right arm tightened around his shoulders. "Let's go."

Artoo tottered on the edge until Luke reached out with the Force and floated the droid down. "Latch on, Artoo." He tucked Mara against his chest to work a remote. They dropped away from the turbolift doorway as another explosion rocked the floor.

Her beware unease strummed under their combined relief. Leaving the fire did not subdue it any. Luke looked down at her face and winced, sympathy for the visible bruise blossoming over her temple and cheekbone apparent in his expression and the bond. "I'm still in one piece," she said.

His arms tightened, but he carefully didn't put more pressure on her left side. "I've got you. Go into a healing trance."

She shook her head. The repulsorlift platform Luke was using as a sled zoomed down the turbolift shaft nearly as fast as a regular turbolift car would have. He slowed it as they reached a cut-open door and they emerged into a larger corridor. Stormtroopers and technicians ran through it and their panic echoed throughout the space. Even though the explosions were further away, her danger sense hadn't dropped. "You need me," she added when he frowned and guided the platform toward the ceiling so they flew over everyone's heads.

"Yes, I do. That's the whole point of you healing yourself." Someone decided they were worth shooting at, but Luke banked the platform and increased the speed enough so the bolts never found a target.

Her love for him and his clueless exasperation with her made her heart beat faster. She wasn't even annoyed by how far he had missed her point. He wanted her, he needed her, he came back for her. And none of that had any place in the battle they were flying into, so she needed to get back on point. "You need me to fight, Farmboy. Everything else will have to wait." He glanced down at her, concern replacing his exasperation. "You feel it too, don't you?" she asked.

"Now that you point it out, yes." He freed one of his arms around her and tucked his hand to his waist. She tightened her grip on him while he brought up her lightsaber. "I believe this one's yours."

"Thanks." She took it with a grin that felt more like her answer to battle than anything romantic. She twisted and replaced his lightsaber on his belt. She shouldn't be grinning like this; a Jedi was supposed to be calm, Luke wouldn't think it was appropriate and it would unsettle him. She had lost count of how many people respond with terror when she was gleeful and showing it.

Luke wrapped his arms around her and glanced down at her face again. His blue eyes went soft before he grinned back at her.

The corridor ended in a large hangar bay. The polished dark floor reflected the magnetic field generator outlining the opening. The _Millennium Falcon_ rested on the side with its entry ramp open to the doorway they were flying through. Unfortunately, the space between them and the entry ramp was filled with crossing blaster bolts. Imperial Sovereign Protectors and stormtroopers had entered the bay through a second door north of the _Falcon_ and took cover behind technical equipment and ship parts to lay down fire.

"Fierfek," Luke muttered as he stopped the platform behind some shipping crates his sister and the others had found for cover.

"There you are, Kid," Solo said. "Nice of you two to join us." He lifted his head over a crate and fired off three shots before ducking again.

Luke helped Mara off his lap, but once they were inside the Force-silent bubble from Myrkr, the pain in her abdomen drove her to her knees. Her vision swam and she tried to focus on what was going on with the battle.

"Time to ditch the ysalamiri." Luke's voice was farther away than it should have been.

"I've got her, Luke." Leia's compact frame leveraged Mara into a new position. Mara pressed down on her abdomen and let Leia move her.

The Force returned the clarity she had grown accustomed to. Her bloody jumpsuit and basics stuck to her skin. She heard lightsabers deflecting blaster bolts and blasters continuing to fire. She felt Leia using the Force to urge her pain to diminish and took over. The awareness of the cramp bled away, but blood continued to ooze from her. Mara lifted her head. Artoo twittered at her and sounded happy.

Leia stroked Mara's hair. "The fetus," she murmured, "it's gone."

"I know," Mara said equally low. Leia's Force presence seemed magnified and expanded in a way that felt familiar but confusing at the same time. Mara ignored it to observe the fight. An amber lightsaber extended above the crates with the green one. She peered around the crates and saw Ekhrikhor behind one of the entry ramp struts firing on the stormtroopers too. Solo, Chewbacca, and Akh'laht had stopped ducking as they shot.

Solo turned to them. "We got an opening. Run for the _Falcon_."

"Can you?" Leia asked.

Mara nodded. "Just keep the ysalamiri away from me." She let Leia help her up and then they dashed toward the beat-up freighter. The blaster bolts were not coming so furiously now, and Solusar and Luke batted away what was coming. Artoo surged ahead of the women, not even slowing down when he charged up the ramp. Mara's danger sense sent a warning from above and she skidded backwards, taking Leia with her.

Before Leia protested, a refueling pod slammed into the floor before them. The reverberations sent them both down to their knees but no one shot at them as they scrambled to use the pod as scant cover and pulled their own lightsabers out for defense. They both turned to see why.

Sidious stepped out from the motionless Imperial Sovereign Protectors and their cover. Large streaks of gray stripped through his auburn hair. Deep skin crags aged his face, but his back remained strut-straight. He carried his lightsaber hilt in his hand, and pointed the deactivated weapon at Mara. "You will not steal what is mine."

"I'm not yours," Mara snarled back. "As for what I carry, it won't do you any good; it's dead." She waved at the bloody crotch of her jumpsuit.

The silence boiled in the hangar bay before breaking in a primal scream from Sidious. The wave of amplified hatred smashed against the crouching women. The heavy blackness bore down on Mara and filled her ears with atonal sounds. No, the discordant racket jarred the inside of her skull like it was a percussion instrument. It reminded her of C'baoth's berserk scream that had ripped through her mental shields like they were made of flimsi. Only this storm of hate and pain had a target, Mara herself with Leia staggering in the blast zone as well.

But Mara had a better shield now, a melody cocooning her in safety and pushing back the din. It wove together with Leia's mental shield to break the surge of anger; Mara supplied the technique, Leia and something else provided the power. She was peripherally aware of the Imperial Sovereign Protectors staggering under the rage unleashed. Sidious sprang toward them, ignited his lightsaber, and brought it down.

Luke's green blade intercepted the blow before Mara ignited her lightsaber. He pushed back, forcing Sidious to retreat from Mara. She didn't need the protection, but Leia distracted her with a good idea. They wrapped the Force around a rectangular re-energizer pod and pulled it into the air straight at Sidious.

His red blade sliced it in half, but by that time, Mara and Leia were hurling a shipping crate at him. Luke ducked as it sailed past him. Fresh stormtroopers ran into the hangar bay and began firing again, being careful to aim at the ones still behind the crates and avoiding the lightsaber duel. Solusar's amber blade sent the bolts ricocheting but he was tiring.

Ekhrikhor raised his heavy blaster pistol, tracking the lightsaber duel. He fired once and the bolt hit Sidious' back while Luke parried the red lightsaber slash. Sidious' back arched and his body collapsed to the floor. The dark side energy within him exploded out as blue fire, knocking everyone on their feet to the floor. Mara leaned against the refueling pod for cover and stared at the body and the blast and the black afterimage of Sidious floating above the body. Then the translucent afterimage moved closer to the refueling pod. "The perfect vessel," grated through the air.

Mara brushed Leia with her senses and felt the potential Force power along with a strumming heartbeat. She grabbed the brunette's hand, startling the other woman because Mara was not the hand-holding type. She called up the shield Luke had used before against the Dark Side Artifact. "Shield, Leia," she muttered. "He wants your baby."

Leia gasped, but twined her power with Mara's a few seconds later. The golden shield between them and the black wraith grew brighter, taller, and wider. Mara sank deeper into the Force than she had ever gone before but she didn't think she was trancing or could call this meditation. She kept her eyes focused on the wraith and poured her will into stopping Sidious before he could harm another innocent life.

Luke wrapped an arm around her back as he knelt beside her. His prosthetic hand clung onto their joined ones. Solusar flung himself to his knees between Luke and Leia, and rested his hand on top of Luke's. The light from their shield filled the hangar bay now. Sidious' wraith stalked to the light and snarled before it, but the stormtroopers and Imperial Sovereign Protectors stopped firing their blasters and shifted closer to their exit. Mara heard woodwinds in the light, a melody she had never heard before but was hauntingly familiar.

The light swirled between the four of them and the wraith, weaving into a humanoid shape. That stepped out of the light in the form of a man with shaggy light-colored hair dressed in Jedi robes and surrounded by a blue shimmer. "It's over, Sidious."

Sidious' form sidestepped away from the newcomer. "You will not deny me immortality, Skywalker. I have succeeded beyond what even Darth Plagueis accomplished. I will have that power!"

Anakin Skywalker's ghost stepped in front of the wraith. "Not my grandson nor anyone else. All you have left is the void." Sidious let out another scream, but the wave of hate didn't cross the light. He rushed towards Anakin Skywalker and towards them behind the shield. A gloved hand extended from the brown Jedi robe in the galactic gesture for stop, but Sidious planted his chest against it. The tenor of the scream change from defiance to fear as the wraith's momentum froze and its form wisped away like smoke carried on air currents. Soon all that was left was the ethereal blue form who dropped his arm.

"Father," Luke said in an awed tone of voice that Mara had never heard him use.

Anakin Skywalker turned to face them. Mara saw similarities to Luke in the ghost's chin, eyes, and probably hair but the glow made that one harder to verify. "Luke, Leia," he said warmly.

Leia's hand gripping Mara's tightened and her arm was as rigid as durasteel.

Anakin's presence fluctuated, a ragged scar appeared over his right cheekbone on a much paler face. His gaze didn't move off his daughter. "It's a far too little thing after the pain I caused. But this is one evil your children won't have to face now."

Mara felt a buzzing from Luke, but his attention was also focused on his sister. Was this how mental communication between her and Luke felt to Leia? His arm remained around Mara's back and his hand covered her and Leia's joined hands.

Leia sighed and her arm relaxed but she didn't unclasp her hand from Mara's. "Your grandchildren won't face him." She gazed up calmly at the apparition.

Anakin's face smoothed back to his younger form as he grinned. He didn't look much older than his children in this form and looked younger when he chuckled. "Sidious brought it on himself. He should never have picked on my children." His form became more translucent and the golden light filling the hangar bay dimmed. His expression shifted to wistful. "So much like your mother, both of you, and I never saw it. Padmé would be so proud of you both." Anakin disappeared from the hangar bay and the golden light faded into the normal spectrum.

Luke let go of the women's clasped hands to squeeze Leia's shoulder. "Get to the _Falcon_." He pivoted and scooped Mara up in his arms.

"I can run," she told him.

"Don't argue," he snapped back, cradling her with both arms and the Force. Han and Chewbacca caught up with them at the entry ramp. The stormtroopers caught onto the fact that they were leaving and started firing again. Ekhrikhor fired back as Luke charged up the entry ramp.

Karrde shouted from the cockpit. "We have to go now! World Devastators are appearing in Byss space!"

Artoo whistled excitedly as they passed the droids and Korora in the crew lounge of the main hold. "What do you mean it worked?" Threepio demanded. "What did you do, Artoo?"

"Daddy! Mommy!" Korora shouted from the curved bench.

"Stay strapped in," Mara and Luke told her in unison before following the curve of the passageway and leaving the main hold.

Luckily, the door of the crew quarters was open because Luke may not have paused long enough for the metal to slide apart. He set her on the bunk on the back wall, the one with the mediscan unit's devices built into its walls. Mara gratefully stretched out on the protected cushions.

Luke made a distressed hum. "You're bleeding already." He activated the mediscan before turning for a blanket.

Mara ignored the beeping box. "Now I'm going into a healing trance." She pulled the Force around her. It shifted without much effort, and she wove and expanded what Luke had done to her before. "Wake me up if you need me to shoot something." She drifted away, content to let the Force and her body handle the rest.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** "At least I have the minor satisfaction of knowing I did it to myself," she told her regret. - There was a question that I saw on Tumblr in the midst of writing all this naturally: your favorite Mara Jade quote, something she actually verbalized. viterbofangirl flagged this one from _Vision of the Future_ and I'm just going to quote her now.

This line of hers has always stuck with me in a particularly deep fashion. Mara's story is all about agency and autonomy. Damned if she isn't going to fight tooth and nail to keep from dying of course, but if fate and/or prophecy is going to be an utter _bitch_ about it and tell her that a situation is something she literally cannot avoid, at least she goes out on her own terms. Because a) she is MARA JADE dammit not prey _never_ prey and b) fuck destiny anyway. This line reflects the glory and gore-the blood, sweat, and tears-of her journey and everything she set out to accomplish for herself.( post/154492201027/favorite-mara-jade-quote)

Since Mara's agency is an important theme here and I already borrowed from VotF earlier, I couldn't not use this line.

Anakin Skywalker's appearance - I didn't save the comment so I can't even point to where I read them, but I remember the gist. Palpatine's series of clone bodies is a cheat that undermines Anakin's redemption. _Dark Empire_ throws out the Chosen One prophecy along with Anakin's struggle to turn on his abusive master for the sake of his son. Anakin was always meant to destroy Palpatine and "restore balance to the Force."

Based off that commentary, Darth Sidious' fate was something I had to fix and put his destruction back in Anakin's hands once again. I also think that Anakin's ability to come out as a Force ghost is tied to the amends he must make for the evil he did as Darth Vader. That does not follow WEG's rules for Force ghost appearances, but the Chosen One has always been a special case for everything. Any who, the short version is, yes, the grandkids will see Grandfather Anakin a lot in the future.

So who knew Vader was Anakin when in Legends is never stated out right in what I have read. Zahn doesn't bring it up except for Mara's lack of knowledge, so I always assumed that Alliance High Command was told and the High Command eventually became the Inner Council with a few new faces of the New Republic. Leia seemed at peace with her heritage at least with dealing with the Noghri. Now there's a thought for my other series, Vader keeping the Noghri. _Truce at Bakura_ has a understandably jumpy Leia and her interaction with Anakin's Force ghost, but I'm less satisfied with the peace she finds at the end of that book now. Mostly because she doesn't actually work through anything, she just survives the battle and is like "oh I'm not mad at him any more." I haven't read _Tatooine Ghost_ to see how it is handled there, so this battle is my answer as to why Leia Organa Solo named her third child after Anakin. Unfortunately, she's not a viewpoint character and we're not privy to the pleading argument Luke gives her.


	29. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

Luke spread the blanket over Mara's unconscious form, taking care to cover the bloodstains on her legs. "Heal fast, bek-nalu," he said softly before pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. Her Force presence had changed, clearer and stronger, like he always suspected it would with further training.

The mediscan beeped with its results. She needed to be transferred to a medcenter to remove the dying tissue before infection set in. In theory, the healing trance should help her expel a miscarriage, but he didn't know how. Would it make her body absorb the rejected fetus or would it make a normal miscarriage process go faster? Not to mention the transplants and bacta healing to start these pregnancies. He didn't know because he didn't have a uterus. They had to get off Byss for Mara to get any help.

He'd be a lot more useful on the quads keeping the _Falcon_ from getting shot down. He plunged back into the _Falcon_ 's circular passageway, heading past the engineering bay to get to the quad cannons ladder. The sublight engines were already engaged.

Luke climbed down, settling into the chair and the new gravity zone, strapped in and grabbed the headset. A shadow was spreading over the city at the base of the tower, one far larger than any the _Falcon_ could cast. The first thing he heard over the intercom was Chewie's low warning rumble.

"I am avoiding the tractor beams," Han snapped.

Lightning lanced through the air and chunks of the ground floated up with it. The emanations of fear and death from the surface increased ten-fold. Luke had to shield himself from dizzying pain and terror. Concentrate on the here and now to protect his friends and family.

"Lando, Commander Antilles, any Rogues, get off the surface," Leia said in her command voice. "A World Devastator is descending onto Byss. We have the hostages and have left the Citadel. Get off the planet now."

"I'm on the dorsal quad," Luke broke in. "Any signs of pursuit?"

Chewie growled out a negative. Han added, "I think everyone's busy with the planet killer showing up here to chase after us, Kid."

"Multiple planet killers," Leia said grimly. "The transponders for three more just appeared. Rogues, do you copy that?"

"We hear you, Leia." Lando's smooth voice was terse with stress. "We're in the air. Everyone accounted for. All the X-1 Vipers lost."

"Copy that," she answered, relieved.

Han banked the _Falcon_ to avoid chunks of the city floating through the air. They shot clear of the shadow and headed into the pollution colored clouds. An alarm whooped from the control panel.

"Shavit," Han muttered. "Make that five World Devastators." He rolled the ship, changing Luke's vantage point. A blocky ship twice the size of an ImpStar Deuce bore down on them. It looked like a thick table with stumpy legs emerging from the clouds.

Han increased the throttle as the _Falcon_ climbed into the upper atmosphere. "Did we ever get a firm count on how many of these damn things exist?"

"Seven," Luke answered. "Unless any of them acquired enough material to make another Devastator."

"But why are they converging here?" Leia asked. "Is this something you and Mara implemented?"

"We found the control codes, but we never had access to a computer that could communicate with them." Luke turned the turret to follow the new Devastator's descent on top of the Devastator closest to the ground. Lightning sparked between the tube-shaped legs and the shields protecting the other superweapon. "They're turning on each other."

"Great, less that we have to deal with," Han said. "Plotting a short jump out of the Deep Core. After that, are we headed back to Pinnacle Base or somewhere else?"

"Mara needs the closest medcenter we can trust. She's in a healing trance, but she needs trained medics." The upper atmosphere gave way to the darkness of space.

Chewie yelled out a warning and Han swerved the _Falcon_ at the same time. Luke caught sight of the _Eclipse_ against the reflected light of the planet. TIE fighters buzzed and fired uselessly on the two World Devastators pulling the massive ship in half.

"Punch it, Chewie!" Han yelled.

Luke readied his grip on the firing controls, but it proved unnecessary as the starlines blurred into hyperspace. Multiple sighs of relief echoed along the intercom.

"We can all relax until we have to find the Fleet," Han said.

"I'll be in the crew quarters." Luke told them. Mara's condition hadn't changed, nor had the mediscan's recommendation. He should move a storage crate or something in here to sit on since he was suddenly struck with the urge not to leave her side until she was under a medic's care. He doubted he'd be that lucky; Leia always wanted the first debrief.

The door slid open but it was Karrde instead of his twin. Luke moved aside slightly for the older man to see Mara, glad her bloodstains hadn't spread through the blanket. Karrde's thin lips inside his goatee pressed tightly together as he read the mediscan's report. "We didn't have time to ask before. What did Palpatine do to her?" He blew out his pulse of anger. "As long as it isn't betraying her confidence to tell me."

Free from the deafening and smothering misery of Byss, Luke's guilt surged forward. "I couldn't keep her safe." He couldn't look at Karrde, so he leaned his left forearm above the bunk and stared at Mara's peaceful, bruised face.

She hadn't complained, hadn't blamed him, but instead used everything she had been taught to bring them all through this crisis. He was proud of her for that. Would anyone else be? Would Karrde see the sacrifice Mara made?

Luke took a deep breath to get it out. Karrde cared about Mara too; he deserved the truth. "Palpatine implanted a clone fetus of himself for Mara to give birth too. His medics weren't using proper surrogacy techniques. She lost the first one and this one."

Karrde's renewed anger sparked Luke's swallowed outrage. "To punish her?" the older man asked. "For not killing you?"

So Mara had told Karrde about the last command. Luke let his anger go, Palpatine was gone. But the guilt gnawed at him. "Probably, though he twisted it so I would be tempted to use the Dark Side to end her suffering, the dotkohu." Same thing Palpatine had done to him at Endor, Luke remembered bitterly. At least Palpatine hadn't raised him before torturing him. He pressed his forehead against his forearm.

"And he captured her with two hostages for her to protect." Karrde's voice speculated thoughtfully, covering his deep empathy. "He miscalculated Mara's true loyalty. I do wish she'd learn not to be so cavalier with her own health in the process of saving others."

Luke's guilt added an accusation that wasn't present in Karrde. Every time Palpatine had hurt Mara it was because of Luke. He should have done more to protect her. But feeling that did not stop his blurting out. "All I could do was keep her healthy. She shot down all my other ideas."

"Then they were stupid ideas that deserved it."

Luke rolled his head and looked at Karrde's sardonic expression. "They were. Now that's an insight into your working relationship."

Karrde shrugged. "I suppose it's safe enough with you. You're not a competitor."

"The last thing I want to do is hurt Mara." His guilt had derailed this information exchange. He moved his head back to look at her. "She claimed taking out his clones as soon as we learned about them. Something went wrong with that though. That's how she got this." Luke didn't let his fingers connect to her bruised cheek. Karrde looked thoughtfully at the almost caress, and Luke pulled back his hand. "She was glad to see you."

"After you two disappeared while mentioning Force storms and mental communications from Palpatine, we pulled up stakes from Hijarna and retreated back to Myrkr. Found the Solos turning our base into a nursery for their children and they were amenable to my volunteering to come after you two."

Footsteps pounding down the corridor broke off their conversation, but the reverberations were too light to be any of the adults on board. The door slid open before Korora who took a running leap at Luke. "DADDY!"

He caught her and hugged her tight while her arms squeezed around his neck. "You okay, Akku?" She was breathing hard from running or from screaming he couldn't tell. And her joy was overwhelming any fear she may have felt earlier.

"I'm fine." She pulled back and studied his face. "You okay? No bad droids?"

"No bad droids." He assured her, wondering how long that incident was going to be remembered.

She tilted her whole body to look over his shoulder. "Mommy sick again?"

He pushed aside his guilt and anxiety. Korora needed reassurances right now. "She's sleeping to get better. We're going to a medcenter with no Emperor."

"Good. Artoo is fighting with another droid that talks in Basic and Solusar has all the pretty blocks we couldn't touch before and he still won't let me touch them, Daddy."

"Daddy?" Leia stepped into the crew quarters with a mocking smile. "Is there something you forgot to tell us, Luke?"

"Are you going to give me grief about being adopted? You, Leia Organa Solo?" Korora tucked her head under his chin. "This is my sister, Korora. She's your Aunt Leia."

Leia moved closer and made eye contact with his daughter.

"If you're adopting your rescuee, it's probably best to stop referring to Mara as her mother."

Korora's grip tightened on Luke's tunic as she scowled at Karrde. "She is my mommy. She told everybody she's my mommy. She even told the scary mean man who made her dance." Her scowl threatened to break into tears. "My mommy and daddy and they're taking me to the falling water place."

"It's okay." Luke added an instinctive soothing croon to the words. "Mommy didn't have a chance to tell Captain Karrde everything."

"That's true," Karrde said with a note of apology in his voice. "So pardon the impertinence of the question, but New Republic adoption laws being what they are, how exactly are you and Mara going to work out custody?"

"We'll figure something out." He and Mara made a pretty good team after all.

Leia looked up at Luke with that twinkle in her eye. "And just how did Mara get you into a blue tunic? Because when I or Winter have tried to get you into any other color, you always, without fail, run straight back to the black portion of your wardrobe." Luke felt his cheeks heat and Leia pounced on his embarrassment before he shielded it. "What did she do, pull a blaster on you? Because I have been tempted."

"Do we need blasters?" Korora asked. She leaned back to look at Luke's face. "They took Mommy's blasters away when we had to get off the Jade ship. Do we need more?"

Leia winced along with her mental apology. Luke used his hold on Korora to rub his daughter's back. "No, it's fine, we're safe now."

"Safe in hyperspace." Han leaned against the doorway into crew quarters preventing the door from sliding shut. "Now I've got a question for you and you." His finger jabbed at Leia first, then Luke. "Explosives expert in the family?" He stressed the last three words with a suggestive lift of his eyebrows.

Luke's cheeks heated again. "I said that?"

"Yes, you did." Han quirked his lips.

"And she apparently got him into a blue tunic," Karrde said. "Which is a big deal."

Han's smirk grew bigger. "Is there a change in status you'd like to share with the rest of us?"

They had never talked about telling everyone else, and somehow he knew this isn't how Mara would want the news shared: the butt of a joke in front of her boss whose good opinion she treasured. On top of that, they had never spoken of continuing what started if they escaped. Escape had been too far away to even consider asking those questions or making those promises. The last time he had mentioned family, she had said she was no good at it. He felt like sand was scraping down his back as he thought about Mara's reaction if he assumed. "Have to confirm it first."

Leia brushed her sympathy against Luke before turning to her husband. "Han."

"Fine," he said reluctantly, loathe to give up any chance to tease Luke. "Your turn. You're pregnant?"

"How?" She looked down at her body, which wasn't showing any signs of pregnancy.

"The light show, we all saw and heard the light show!" Han gestured, presumably meaning the hangar bay they had left behind on Byss.

Leia looked at Luke and Karrde. "You saw?"

Karrde nodded. "Once you four created that light, the two ghosts were visible to me in the cockpit. One looking like the late Emperor and one dressed like a Jedi from the Clone Wars."

Han waved his hands again. "Force hokey is not the important thing here. How could you take the risk?"

"I didn't know I was pregnant! Jaina and Jacen are almost eight-months-old; I shouldn't even be pregnant," she snapped. She took a deep breath. "I thought I was feeling more because of greater access to the Force and reacting to the horribleness of it. Like I told you."

Luke shifted Korora to a more comfortable spot in the crook of his arm. "Could you two have this discussion somewhere else, please? Like your bunk."

"Yeah, Mommy's sleeping," Korora added.

"We have questions, Luke." Leia narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'll stay with Mara," Karrde offered.

Luke sighed and Korora patted his head in sympathy as he carried her out of the bunk room. Leia and Han fell in behind him. "I'm going to have to replace the third cargo hold with another bunk room." Han groused.

"You and Chewie have been talking about that for months. The _Falcon_ 's hauling more people these days than cargo," Leia said.

They emerged in the main hold. Chewbacca and Ekhrikhor sat at the Dejarik table concentrating on the holographic pieces. Kam sat at the engineering station balancing a makeshift crate full of holocrons and lightsabers. Akh'laht waited at the passageway waiting for Kam to make a wrong move. Ekhrikhor looked up as they entered. "Son of Vader, your firstdaughter is well?"

"Korora's fine. Thank you for keeping her safe."

"Thanks is not necessary as we repay our debt."

"How's Jade?" Kam asked.

"Needs a medcenter," Luke answered curtly. Kam's face fell.

Artoo insulted Threepio over in the galley corner of the main hold. "What did you call me, you overweight, unstreamlined glob of grease?" the taller droid demanded.

"And there they go," Han muttered. "Keep 'em out of the cockpit, Luke, if you can't stop this spat." He headed across the main hold to the other passageway.

Artoo repeated what he had just said, and Luke jumped in to distract Threepio. "What's wrong now? You two aren't setting a good example for Korora."

"Oh Master Luke, I'm afraid Artoo is in need of logic function maintenance. He keeps insisting he is responsible for the World Devastators deviations."

"He found the control codes and had them," Luke said.

Artoo beeped patiently at his counterpart and Luke.

"He says they found an external connection in the cloning chamber control room and he acted on Mistress Mara's instructions." The golden-bronze droid jerked as much as he was able between looking down at Artoo and over to Luke. "When did Trader Jade's designation change?" Artoo told him on Byss. That didn't mollify Threepio. "Why am I the last one to know these things?"

Leia smothered a snicker behind Luke. He sighed. "It's not official. Can everyone just wait until she's awake and we have a chance to talk?"

Artoo whistled out the Binary for she loves you.

And that lanced Luke to his core so fast and so hard Leia pressed her hand on his shoulder and turned her concern fully on him. Because they had felt it through the bond, he had said it, but she hadn't. "Don't put words in her mouth, Artoo." _I'm fine, Leia. Everyone just needs to back off and let Mara have a choice. You know that pesky little thing Palpatine never let her have._

 _She'll be fine. It'll be fine._ She patted his shoulder.

He shifted Korora to his other arm. "Come on, Korora, I'll show you the cockpit with Uncle Han. You remember the rule for cockpits?"

"Don't press any buttons." She latched her arms around his neck as they left.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** "Bek-nalu" - I've given Luke a smattering of Huttese because it makes sense that would be one of the languages he grew up learning on Tatooine. But I didn't like the translation I found for beloved, so I borrowed the Amatakka term that means soul-touch from Fialleril. It works considering the bond Luke and Mara have now.

"Ghost dressed like a Jedi from the Clone Wars" - Karrde is old enough to remember the Clone Wars. He may not have actually been present for any of the battles, but I'm sure he saw HoloNet footage.

 _Millennium Falcon_ 's layout - I had no idea just how many of those exist. I settled on the milleniumfalcondecklayout on wordpress's corrected layout. And I was inspired by the changes made to the _Falcon_ that the _Force Awakens_ justified by Han presenting a new bunk and a new galley as a wedding present to Leia. So currently in the timeline, the Forward Hold (9) has already been divided into a bunk room for Han and Leia and a separate bunk room for Chewie. The new galley is in the Main Hold (7) in the corner across from the Dejarik table.

"Trader Jade's designation" - I'm ignoring that Threepio refers to Mara as "Mistress Mara" in _Heir to the Empire_. It's too familiar address for our favorite fussy protocol droid. Artoo is now referring to her as "Mistress Mara" because he knows now she loves Luke and doesn't want to permanently shut him down. That it's a new way to torment Threepio is a bonus feature.


	30. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

Mara blinked as she became aware. She felt the medbed underneath her kneading her muscles. The light was dim, but bright enough. Medical equipment beeped around her. Her abdomen didn't protest or cramp as she crunched the muscles. She wasn't on board the _Falcon_ any longer. She reached through the bond, noting how easy it was now.

Luke was nearby but further away from her medbed than she expected. His elation was cut off by annoyance over the task he was in the middle of and the tasks she had scheduled for when she awoke. Guilt rumbled softly, but was swept aside before she questioned it.

 _I'm not leaving without seeing you at least. Preferably not leaving without you or Korora_ , she told him.

 _That's good to hear. We'll catch up with you once Nern Resh Isk has finished your debrief._

She sent him a warm caress and focused on the room she was inside. She found the control button to raise the medbed so she could sit up. Talon Karrde set aside his datapad and got up from the visitor's chair. "Welcome back." He handed her a water bulb, relief bubbling from him.

She smirked at him after she moistened her dry mouth. "You're not who I was expecting when I woke up."

"Skywalker has been with you since you got out of surgery, but even he is susceptible to Korora's appeal to eat a meal with her." His relief gave way to calculated teasing as he measured what changes had been wrought since they had last seen each other.

Mara concentrated on reviewing herself for what changed while she had been unconscious. An intravenous drip was secured on her arm and her jumpsuit had been changed to medical pajamas. No more bulge housing a parasitic life-form she didn't want. The relief that it was gone made her head spin and she wanted Luke here to share the relief with her. They would have to celebrate later, alone if they ever got that chance. She focused on Karrde. "And who put Korora up to that?"

Karrde's dark eyes twinkled with restrained humor. "I suspect her aunt, but I have no proof. She seems to have bonded with her soon-to-be extended family."

"Soon-to-be, Luke hasn't made it official yet? How long have I been out?" She finished off the water bulb while looking at the intravenous drip. A glucose solution, not medicine.

"A little over two days. That's how long we've been docked with the _Peregrine_." Karrde sat down in the visitor's chair. "Skywalker was adamant about not cutting you out of the custody process. On the off chance that you agreed with him, I've been reading over New Republic adoption laws. There's nothing against two single adults adopting the same child, but not any precedents either."

And Luke looked so much better as a potential parent compared to her: New Republic hero, upstanding Jedi Knight, and relatives to help with the child rearing. She appreciated Karrde not spelling it out in excruciating detail. "I doubt the legal records will ever reflect the truth of the matter."

"That you are Korora's mother."

"Yes. She jumped out of a sed-box and claimed me." Mara looked over at Karrde's interested expression. "I have experience Luke doesn't in what unscrupulous people will do to a Force Sensitive child."

"And a need to make sure it doesn't happen again?"

"Need is overselling it. Are you concerned it will interfere with my job?"

Karrde smirked. "You know I don't meddle in my employees' personal lives like that. And you don't let anything interfere with what you consider the job to be. Korora's a delightful child and a good distraction for Skywalker. It wasn't doing him any good to sit in here brooding."

"Brooding? Luke?" Mara demanded.

"He called it meditation, but it looked like brooding to the rest of us." Karrde tilted his head. His concern for the situation was as plain as his facial hair. She wondered if Artoo had played her recording to Luke. "Don't avoid the poor man," he added.

"I wasn't planning to avoid him."

"Good. I'd hate to see all the goodwill you've accumulated be wasted."

So Karrde wasn't going to gloat about being right? Mara watched him lean back in the chair and steeple his fingers in front of his chest. "That's a hell of an oath you just took." He said instead.

Her forehead wrinkled in confusion as she stared at him.

"Once the astromech stopped crowing about how he saved the galaxy from the World Devastators, he explained what you did in the cloning chamber. After that, Skywalker refused to leave your side, except to feed Korora." His concern for Luke's well-being rose again.

She couldn't concentrate on Luke right now. She was a Jedi. Somehow what she did to stop Sidious made her a Jedi. She blinked as the realization sank in that the Force was here, not hovering tantalizingly out of reach of her feeble skills. She read Karrde's emotions now easier than she had ever had in the year plus she had worked for him. She knew that if she pulled on her lightsaber sitting on the shelf inside the open wardrobe facing the medbed, it would shoot to her hand without hesitation. It was heady and humbling at the same time and her voice sounded distant when she said, "Don't tell anyone and maybe I can keep my job."

His concern was subsumed by amusement over her reaction and his affection for her. "No matter what the galaxy has planned for you, Mara, you will always have a place in my organization." He stood with a smile. "Your medic is incoming and I have to check on the _Wild Karrde_."

Mara inhaled deeply, pulling herself together. "Talon, thank you. For coming after me."

"I had to keep my standing as your favorite employer intact." His smile drooped a bit. "When things calm down, we'll talk about Columex." Mara nodded. He had finally listened to the comm messages and now had so many questions. She wasn't surprised, but she did appreciate that they would find some place to privately discuss that whole mess.

The door slid open before a human woman wearing a New Republic military uniform with medical insignias pinned to it. "Hello, Trader Jade, I'm Medic Barret Holgor. I've been treating you since you boarded the _Peregrine_." Karrde slipped out the door and left them alone. Holgor ran a medisensor over Mara's body. "Huh, well, Jedi Skywalker said you'd be healed completely."

"I've only known him to lie to Imperials."

Holgor chuckled. "So how are you feeling?"

"Pain free for the first time in two weeks."

Holgor made a note on her datapad. "Your body miscarried the clone fetus. We did have to surgically intervene to remove that tissue, but the Jedi healing trance?" Mara nodded when she questioned the name. "It has returned your body to a not-pregnant state. You match the previous scans done when you were a patient in the Imperial Palace. As far as the scan can tell, there has been no residual damage, but I recommend waiting for your fertility cycle to reestablish itself before restarting a fertility blocker."

Mara wrinkled her freckled nose. "And how long will that take?"

"Four to six weeks. Any other questions?"

She and Luke had spoken of children and she hadn't dared utter her realization that his children were welcome to Luke or the Force. It may never come to anything beyond Korora. Their relationship—bond or no bond—was new and fragile and just because Luke said he wanted more children, he never said with her. Byss was not the place for that discussion, and there couldn't be a discussion if she didn't ask. "I'm not planning on having children any time soon but?"

Holgor was Mara's preferred type of medical personnel: capable of keeping up, brisk, and cheerful without an overabundance of sugary personality. "I recommend getting a complete work-up when you decide you're ready to be on the safe side. It's a good practice even if nobody has poked around in your insides; fixing anything that might be a genetic abnormality in the next generation. If that's all, you can get dressed and let the ensign in the hallway take you to the Intelligence debrief. It's the least you can do; we keep tripping over him."

It didn't take her long to slip into the fresh basics and flight suit, clip her lightsaber onto her belt, and then run a brush through her hair, leaving the braid undone. The New Republic Intelligence ensign didn't look old enough to be enlisted, but Mara followed him through the ship's corridors. Only they were intercepted by a familiar pair of droids. "Trader Jade," Threepio called out with a wave of his bent arm and confirming that this was no coincidental meeting. Artoo beeped at him and drew down the taller droid's attention. "No, I'm not calling her that until Master Luke confirms that designation." She recognized that sarcastic sound from Artoo. "How rude. Do you want your message delivered or not?"

The ensign looked at Mara with thin-pressed lips. Mara sighed. "You two should know how Nern Resh Isk doesn't like to be kept waiting, so out with it."

"My sincerest apologies, Trader Jade. My counterpart wished you to know that he did not deliver your recorded message to its recipient. I did try to impress on him that taking that much liberty over personal messages is uncouth behavior at best—"

Artoo interrupted with Binary too fast for Mara to follow.

"He says you must tell him yourself." Artoo swiveled around and rolled down the intersecting corridor. "I must apologize again for his behavior, but well, he has a bad habit of it. He used Princess Leia's message to put Master Luke in a frightful state after he acquired us." Threepio tilted his body in a farewell gesture and headed down the corridor after the astromech.

"What was that all about?" the ensign demanded. His dark eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"You aren't ranked high enough to interrogate them, much less me." She gestured at the droids. The ensign scowled at her, and she smiled until he blanched and led her through the corridors at a brisk pace. She didn't waste any more thoughts on him since Artoo's behavior presented a different puzzle. Had the droid decided not to show Luke her message because she hadn't died? Or was it because of what she had said that he objected to?

She hadn't determined which was the more likely answer, despite going back to the puzzle during her debrief. No interrogation she had been in charge of ever took this long. Her Bothan interrogator didn't offer any tidbits on how the New Republic had fared and started her questions all the way back with Anor capturing Luke before painstakingly moving forward to blowing up the Citadel. If any debrief lasted a fraction of this long with Karrde, he broke out the alcohol. Maybe she should offer him some of the starshine Luke had given her whenever there was a spare minute to sit down with all the questions he had to have thought up by now.

The Bothan, Lieutenant Un Kresule, took notes on a datapad. Mara reached out to Luke. _How's Coruscant? This debrief is only going one way._

The brush of nervous remorse hit her only to be yanked away. But she was pretty sure it had come from Luke. _They're still debriefing you? Coruscant is fine more or less. But they aren't letting anyone back into the Imperial Palace without a thorough sweep. We're in orbit. Your apartment is fine thanks to planetary shields and the government officials evacuating._

 _Good, losing two in a row is just careless._

"What happened to the droideka?" Lieutenant Kresule asked.

Mara focused on her. "I have no idea where Anor stored them; I never saw them in person."

"How do we know you haven't hidden them to use them against Jedi Skywalker at a later date?"

"If this is what the debrief has come to, I think we're done. I don't know where Anor put his droids, I don't want Luke Skywalker dead, and the only thing I'm sorry about is not moving faster to save more lives." Lieutenant Kresule's comm alerted when Mara reached the door, so she left the Bothan in the interrogation room. She remembered the turns to get back to a main corridor, but after that point she kept stepping out of the way of busy military personnel while she looked for a directional marker.

Before she found one, asked for directions, or narrowed down on where Luke was more specifically than nearby, a shrill voice screamed at the top of her lungs, " **MOMMY**!"

Male and female personnel flattened themselves against the corridor walls ahead of the black blur. Mara crouched in the center and caught Korora as her collusion became an embrace. Small arms tightened around Mara's neck and a warm wet kiss landed on Mara's cheek as she lifted the girl off the floor.

"I thought she was Skywalker's kid," was muttered by someone Mara couldn't see.

"Oh Mommy! You're better? Daddy said you were well again but we've been bored with forms all day except for when we got to eat. I had cake after vegetables. Are you really well again?"

It squeezed Mara's heart to see the spark of fear remaining in those brown eyes. How long until time dimmed the memories of Byss for Korora? "I'm fine now. All better." Korora squeezed tighter and Mara turned her head so their cheeks mashed together. "Where did you leave Daddy? Working on forms?"

"Talking." Korora freed one arm to point down the corridor. "Everybody wants to talk to Daddy."

Mara directed her gaze down the corridor and past the military members who thought it was safe to move now. Luke was wearing black again, which showed up clearly in this crowd of drab olive-greens, pale blues, and light beiges. He was in an animated discussion with a woman with rank, though they were too far away for Mara to make out what the rank was. But the look of an annoyed military officers was the same regardless of ideology.

And then his remorse and guilt clicked into place. Someone—probably numerous someones—had talked to him about the inadvisability of being with Mara Jade. Rejection slapped her hard, but it was inevitable. Jedi or not, she was the worse person in the galaxy to raise a child with. Associating with an Imperial assassin will outrage everyone in the New Republic hierarchy from Mon Mothma down to the citizens on the planets. Of course, he'd feel bad for making promises of love and family that he couldn't keep. She had known deep down that it wouldn't last.

Luke's head jerked to look at them. _No_ , he told her mentally. She thought she had shielded better, but Luke charged toward them and continued. _How I feel has not changed, will not change._ The personnel flattened themselves out of his way. _I love you._ And that warm blend of emotions was wrapping around her again, seconds before Luke's arm wrapped around to support her hold on Korora. His free hand tilted her head back and his mouth fell on hers. _I'm sorry I wasn't there when you woke up. I wanted to be._

She pushed into the kiss, darting her tongue past his lips, and sending her love to him as she closed her eyes. _It's all right, Farmboy. You were taking care of our daughter._ Her free hand found the back of his neck and latched on there too. She needed to hang on as his touch sent a jolt straight through her core.

"I guess she really doesn't want to kill him," Lieutenant Kresule said behind Mara.

Korora giggled and grabbed their shoulders. Another female voice that Mara didn't recognized cleared her throat on the other side. "General Skywalker."

Luke's irritation pierced Mara's desire, cementing the fact that they didn't have any privacy at the moment. They broke the kiss, and Luke had to untangle his hand from her red hair. "Jedi Skywalker or Private Citizen Skywalker. I have not re-enlisted. I don't know if I'm going to re-enlist. My first task is to see to my family and my apprentice's safety."

The captain who had been fussing at him earlier pressed her lips together, but didn't bother saying anything as Luke moved his arm around Mara's back and ushered them down the corridor. The press of personnel thinned after three turns. He kept his arm around her even though they could spread out now. "The New Republic wants you to re-enlist?" Mara asked.

His kiss swollen lips pursed before he responded. "Kam's numbers of how many Dark Side users were on Byss has them afraid that some may have escaped. So they want me to lead the expedition to make sure none did."

"What do you want to do? Or what do you think the Force wants you to do?"

"I don't know. Every time I tried to meditate on the question, somebody came in to keep me from brooding about how you weren't awake yet." He sighed. "Do you mind Kam living in your guest room? I'd like to get him away from the generals and admirals before they decide to give him a commission."

"We can go planetside?" He nodded. "I'd like to offer it to Karrde first, but I have no problem with letting Solusar borrow a couch."

"I think he's with the _Wild Karrde_." They reached the turbolift bank and didn't have to wait long to get down to the hangar bay level.

The red-hulled, modified Corellian Engineering Corporation Action VI transport took up most of the hangar bay. Now Luke pulled away when Chin and Aves nudged each other and headed toward them. "Jade, you're awake," Aves called out.

"The Boss is in with Sturm and Drang," Chin said. "I'll get him. Don't want those fellows hunting your new little one." He headed up the boarding ramp.

Aves reached them and struck a nonchalant pose. "So you're okay? Karrde didn't say why you ended up in the medcenter."

"I'm fine, thanks, Aves. This is Korora." The little girl waved at Aves before hiding her face against Mara's shoulder.

"Korora Jade-Skywalker," Luke said.

Aves and Mara both looked at him but Aves spoke first. "You're going to weld all that to the kid?"

Luke shrugged. "I'll take Mara's name if she wants to give it to me."

Mara blinked and found herself at a loss for words because Luke—despite portraying nothing but serene calm—was projecting nervous dismay that he overstepped, she didn't want him being possessive in front of her coworkers, or Force forbid didn't want him at all. She shifted Korora to her left hip. Before she touched him, Karrde and Chin descended from the _Wild Karrde_. "Mara, Skywalker. Not a new problem, I hope?"

"No," Mara said quickly. "We're heading down to my apartment and I was going to offer you a guest room. You didn't tell me the _Wild Karrde_ was here already."

"My apologies for not mentioning it, but we have to get business back on schedule. You're planning on staying on Coruscant for long?"

"Have to sort out whatever mess this invasion did to the Smuggler's Alliance and Korora's custody. I haven't even had a minute to listen to my comm messages. I'll let you know if I have to leave." She seized Luke's hand and twined their fingers. "I know you don't have a problem with Luke, so make sure no one else does either."

Luke's head dipped to look at their hands and his dismay vanished as his smile stretched across his face. Aves and Chin both dropped their jaws.

Karrde smiled, not as sardonically as she had seen the expression on his face nor was it as triumphant as he felt. "I'll see to it that my other employees stay out of your personal business. Clear skies, Mara, Korora, Skywalker."

"Clear skies."

"May the Force be with you."

"Bye."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** So ancient Jedi had an influence on this story as well. And by ancient I mean the first Jedi on Jedha or Ossus or Ahch-To or wherever they actually sprang up. (I like Jedha—ancient crumbling statues in the landscape; ask me what are my favorite design elements of Middle Earth on screen.) My question was what made the Jedi Jedi before the Order developed and codified things.

 _Tales of the Jedi_ comics were less helpful to this question because the codification had already begun. Granted not as rigid as we see in the prequels, but we have master Jedi training apprentices and declaring them knights. We also have what Yoda does and tells Luke and what we see Luke do with this information. Stripping away the religious trappings and the focus on making Luke a father-killer, we get: "You must confront Vader. Then, only then, a Jedi will you be. And confront him you will." And the climax of the _Return of the Jedi_ shows Luke confronting evil, rejecting it and violence against its sentient tool, and declaring himself a Jedi in the moment, which evil handily confirms through Palpatine.

So my headcanon of the ancient Jedi: they confronted evil, rejected it, thwarted its plans, and in return gained greater synergy with the Force. Then they found kyber crystals and started making nifty weapons. Ryan Church says the one on the right is "the most primitive lightsaber there is." (18 _The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens_ )

Tying this headcanon into the story, Mara's character arc is all about her establishing her own agency after coming to the sickening realization she had none and was less than a pawn to the man who had raised her. I wanted to show her—at a greater personal loss than just a ship no matter what the ship symbolized for her—rejecting evil for the greater good of the galaxy and the Force recognizing that. Kam Solusar's journey mirrors hers.

And basically, Luke's starting the Jedi Academy with four Jedi Knights: himself, Mara (who knows what skills he knows but needs more practice), Kam (who is still at beginning stages with so many Force skills and has holes in his training to patch), and Leia (who's focusing on diplomacy and politics as a way to safeguard the galaxy right now and less swinging her lightsaber). Consequently, they are in a much better position to deal with Kyp before he goes genocidal.

"When things calm down, we'll talk about Columex." — At some point between the last chapter and the epilogue, Karrde does get the whole story about Anor and Mara's past. There is drinking and Luke shows up when Mara gets upset over what happened to her, but Karrde can't figure out how he knew to come in. A few weeks after that Karrde brings Luke a bill. "Just the expenses. The holovids were confiscated along with the rest of Anor's estate and luckily, no one had the bright ideas to copy and disseminate them. They're destroyed now." Luke pays the bill.

"He used Princess Leia's message to put Master Luke in a frightful state after he acquired us." — And I wrote this before TLJ was released and we see that Artoo is still dicking with recordings to get his point across. :p


	31. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty**

It was local night by the time they hired an airspeeder cab to fly them from Westport to the Senate Apartment Complex. It hadn't taken that long to gather their things and Solusar, but finding an available shuttle took hours. And more officers took the opportunity to discuss re-enlisting with Luke, so many Mara wondered if the delay was on purpose. The _Peregrine_ finally let them leave, and they ate during the wait at the spaceport.

Solusar pressed his face against the transparisteel viewport. "So many gentlebeings. When is curfew?"

"No curfew." Luke finished keying in a response on his datapad. "I miss being on a planet that follows a diurnal schedule."

"The city never sleeps?" Solusar twisted away from the window to look at the other occupants of the cab's rear seat.

"The city never stops," Mara confirmed as she adjusted Korora's sleeping body against her chest. "You get used to it or move." Solusar's mouth dropped as he gazed back at the lit buildings and the constant moving traffic. The droid-driven airspeeder pulled up to the veranda's dock. "Finally we're back," she said.

Luke climbed out first and reached back in for Korora. She muttered as they traded her off, but she settled against Luke's shoulder without waking up. He paid off the cab while Mara and Solusar exited with their bags and the crate of Jedi artifacts.

Mara unlocked the center door off the veranda. "I don't know about you two, but the first thing I want is a drink."

"Force, yes," Luke muttered. "I'm so glad I gave you starshine."

She led the way and felt Luke's surprised approval over the removed wall as she took them around the corner to the kitchen door next to the largest dining table in the galaxy. They left the crate of holocrons and lightsabers on it. The starshine was in the wine conservator, which in this apartment was as tall as the conservator. Mara hadn't even started filling it yet and was struck by what scale of entertaining the Senator of Naboo must have done in the waning years of the Old Republic as she found some short glasses. She was far less generous with the portions she poured than Luke had been, but he didn't say anything as he took his glass nor did he try to shield his amusement from her.

Solusar peered at the clear liquid before holding out his glass. "To redemption."

Mara lifted up her own glass. "To survival."

Luke's smirk evened into a soft smile as Korora shifted on his shoulder. "To the future." They clinked the glasses together and slugged back the starshine. Mara was pleased that even though her eyes watered, she didn't choke like Solusar. Luke set his empty glass on the counter. "We're putting Korora in the bedroom next to the office?"

Mara nodded. "It's closest to the master. Come on, Solusar, your bed is this way."

He followed her down the hallway to the guest room. "How much do you earn working for Captain Karrde?"

"Enough. You want a job?"

He looked over the tastefully decorated guest room in gray and blue. The blue and beige military uniform he had been given aboard the _Peregrine_ stood out awkwardly. "I'll need one eventually, but I don't know if I'll have time for one with the training Luke talked about." Yes, Luke had mentioned family and apprentice to multiple officers. And Solusar felt brighter in the Force than she remembered from their first meeting. He mistook her silence for disapproval. "It was suggested while you were in surgery. I don't want to stop your training."

"Don't worry about that. I don't think any of the training we four have will follow what the old Order recognized. And don't judge my net worth by this apartment. I worked out a special deal with the landlord."

He tossed his bag onto the gray duvet covering the bed. "You or Captain Karrde had salacious blackmail on him?"

"No, he wanted someone in here who could repel the Luke Skywalker tour fanatics. Good night, Kam."

She was putting the glasses in the cleaning unit when Luke reached out to her. _You didn't take down the murals._

 _Your parents went to a lot of trouble to make that art._ She matched affection for affection.

 _I didn't expect—_ irritation overrode the affection. _Fierfek. Your comm unit is in the office?_

Mara sent him affirmation, but he didn't share any details of the latest comm. Luke's approach wasn't working with the military powers that be. She frowned as she pulled out a mug and the tin of hot chocolate mix. Time to confiscate his comlink. The aroma of the drink filled the air as she mixed it. A drink beneath the dignity of the elite in Palpatine's court—who had no true dignity to speak of—and of good smugglers—who usually deserved the alcohol they wanted. But right now, the drink evoked a sense of comfort, stability, and security. Farmboy really needed some now. So did she. She pulled a second mug down from the cabinet.

Luke's frazzled nervousness reverberated strongly when the office door slid open ahead of Mara. Leia's blue-tinted head floated above the holographic projector of the comm unit. "Then what have you been doing all day if not talking to her? Though I don't know what could be left to be said after that kiss the whole _Peregrine_ is talking about now."

His face went red, and Mara didn't need the bond confirming how embarrassed he was. He turned to look at her, not bothering to shield his remorse. "It wasn't my intention to coerce you into anything." His voice thickened trying to get that sentence out and his shoulders slumped.

Mara handed him one of the mugs of hot chocolate, and eased herself into the holorecorder's view. "I'm taking him off comm now. He'll contact you at some point tomorrow after we make Korora ours—which we have to go in person to do—after he meditates on the question of surviving Byss Dark Side Adepts, and after he sleeps. Good night, Leia." She disconnected the comm unit before letting Luke's sister speak and set it to go to the message center. "Turn off your personal one or I'll do it for you."

He did set his comlink to take messages with a puzzled frown that didn't clear up when he glanced inside the mug. "You made me hot chocolate?" He looked at her mug. "You made us both hot chocolate?"

"I am pretty good at bringing things to a boil." She looked at him past the rim of her mug as she drank. In his bewilderment, he completely missed the innuendo. She led the way out of the office and down the short hallway to the master suite. His confused panic subsided a bit when she stopped at the gold-cushioned sofa she had added to the room for a quiet sitting area. He sat next to the arm rest and pulled up his mental shields. She perched on the other end, turned to look at him. "So what rumor is going through the ranks that means you coerced that kiss out of me? You kissed me because you wanted to."

"Yes, I wanted to." He gazed into his mug like the brown liquid would give him a Force vision. "I've wanted to for longer than I let myself realize. But I took away your choice. Anything else would have made a scene."

"Farmboy, if I hadn't wanted you to kiss me, you wouldn't have kissed me. Scene or no scene."

Her smile faded away as he shook his head. "I never wanted to compel you into anything. Not like Palpatine and Anor and Sidious. I never wanted to use you like they did. You're a Jedi now."

"You wanted to train more Jedi, so how is that a problem?"

"It wasn't what you wanted a month ago. I wanted to not be the only one any more. And we never talked about what you want. Something real, not seduction, you mentioned that, and I'm glad to have given you what you wanted, what you needed. I have no regrets, Mara." His anxiousness slipped through a crack in his shield. "But I brought up family and you shied away from it, and everyone was ready to call an officiant on the _Falcon_ because of my big mouth but you never said what you want. We have Korora now and I have no idea what we're going to do now. And I go possessively demonstrative in front of everyone on duty without even asking what you wanted to show you how much I—" He took a gulp of his hot chocolate rather than continue that free flow of thought.

Mara blinked at him. Two days unconscious and he had worked himself into a state. "You haven't used me." His shoulders slumped further as he drained the mug. But mentioning training reminded her of an earlier conversation on his teaching skills and his erroneous conclusions about them. Artoo never showed him her message. She set her mug down on the side table. "Everything I did was my choice, Luke. The best of bad and good decisions, and looking back now, I wouldn't change a single one of them." She stood in front of him, took the empty mug from his hand, and set it down on the second side table before straddling his lap. He leaned back but stopped when she cupped his face. "You named this love before."

He swallowed hard as he dropped his mental shields. The bond strengthened on the same emotion from both anchors. "Yes. I love you."

"And I love you." She stroked his jaw, moving her hands to his neck. "If that's what you're asking without asking."

His chin dipped to his chest. "I really needed to hear you say it."

"I'm better with demonstrations." She tipped his head back and kissed him. Luke's hands seized her hips as his lust and affection dispersed his anxiety. She ground her sex against his cock and he groaned into her mouth. That groan ran all the way through her like seismic activity. Her hands slid into his thick hair. Tugging it twitched his cock under her.

Worry wiggled across Luke's mind and he pulled his head back, freeing his lips to give voice to it. "Wait." She moved hers down his neck. That made him groan her name and that was so much better than whatever phantom had emerged to fret over now. She ground against his hard cock to emphasize the point. He grabbed her hips so she couldn't rock again. _Serious questions, please!_

"Fine, but sex is serious too," She let go of his hair and brought her hands to rest on the rough material of his black tabard. "And the quickies in the 'fresher were barely appetizers."

His thumbs massaged her hip bones. "Are you medically cleared for this?"

"They wouldn't have let me out of the medcenter if I wasn't. You do have a fertility blocker?" He nodded. "Good, I have to wait before replacing mine but I'm not planning to do this with anyone but you."

Lust ratcheted up between them with her declaration and again as she unfastened his belt but his concern won out. "What are we going to tell people about us, like the caseworker tomorrow?"

"That could have waited until after."

His pupils were blown wide with desire yet his eyes managed to bore deep into her. "Look I plan on sleeping after giving you so much pleasure we pass out from it. So how do we explain this?"

Her lust spiraled down and it's not fair that reality has to intrude before she orgasmed even once. She shifted against Luke tucking her head against his neck and shoulder. "What does it matter? They won't let me keep her." His hands moved up to her back and confusion filled his mind, but being held in his arms did make her pain better. "Even without the whole smuggler employment thing, no New Republic bureaucrat will give an ex-Imperial assassin a child."

"Fierfek." He squeezed her tighter. "I just wanted to know what I should call you. Woman I'm kriffing is out, Aunt Beru will appear as a Force ghost to yell at me if I use that." He turned his head and kissed her hair. "I should've went in with you to your debrief, protocol be damned. What did they do, spend the whole time on how you wanted to kill me seven months ago?"

"The Lieutenant did accuse me of keeping Anor's droideka to use on you at a later date. But I think that kiss convinced her I'd rather not have you dead."

His hands rubbed her back making a pattern that wasn't a massage. "If a bureaucrat can't recognize you as Korora's mother, we'll make them recognize you."

His determination was back and it was breathtaking when focused on her. But she wouldn't let him fall prey to a bad idea. "We can't use the Force to change a bureaucrat's mind. I did not spend six months in that committee telling myself I couldn't do that, which would have been so much simpler than shipping them to Hoth, for you to make it okay now."

He kissed her hair again and chuckled. "I was thinking of taking my name off the application instead. I'm not going anywhere."

"No, I want you to move in, but I'll have to sweet-talk the landlord into building you an office. I'm not sharing mine."

His hands moved down and squeezed her ass before moving languidly up her back again. "I'm sure you'll be very persuasive."

"And I will be calling you my lover if we ever have sex again, so you should do the same."

"How do you feel about beloved?" He shifted her on his lap so she was facing him directly again. His hands slid over her sides and down her thighs as he leaned forward.

She met his lips for a gentle kiss that heated thoroughly when his fingers brushed against her crotch. She leaned back as the kiss ended. "Poetic for a farm boy." Another stroke of his fingers made her gasp.

"You deserve to be cherished, Mara." His hands skimmed up her stomach to cup her breasts. Even through the layers of cloth, her nipples peaked with the attention. "Let me cherish you, beloved."

"You think I'm going to stop you?" Her question was meant to be sarcastic but came out breathless. She tugged the sash around his waist loose and slid her hands to push the tabard over his shoulders. She rocked her hips for friction and to get more of her breasts into his hands.

He kissed her jaw under her ear. She tilted her head so he continued down her neck while she tugged his tunic out of his trousers. His muscles contracted as she brushed against his skin. She growled when one of his hands left her breast, but it seized the fastener of her flight suit. He pulled it down slower than she parted his black tunic, but he dipped his head to kiss her exposed skin.

She gave up on his tunic and jerked back. He raised his head and watched with darkened blue eyes as she shrugged off the sleeves of the flight suit and peeled her supportive basic off, freeing her breasts. She seized his tunic and ripped.

"Took you long enough," he said as he tugged the rest of it off.

"Forgot I didn't buy that one." She slid her arms around his shoulders, flattened her breasts against the planes of his chest, and kissed him again. His freed arms wrapped around her back and held her in place. She nipped at his lower lip when they parted to breathe.

"Another serious question."

"Evidently I should have started this by dancing for you."

He smirked into her frustrated face. "Are we breaking in this couch?" His hands ran down her back and tucked inside the rucked flight suit at her waist.

"It can wait. I want to break in the bed."

His smirk stretched into a broad grin as he took his hands out of her flight suit and slipped them under her ass. He lifted her, mostly with his muscles that bunched under her hands but the Force took some of her weight as she locked her legs around his hips. In a few quick strides, he lowered her to the bed and then knelt in front of her to take off her boots. She unfastened her belt and dropped it on the floor.

Once her feet were free, he stood to shed his own trousers and boots. She shed her flight suit and her basics without taking her gaze from his tawny body. How did the suns of Tatooine make him so golden all over? How had he stayed so golden in all his years off that planet? She opened her mind to him fully as she held out her hand.

His thoughts swirled around opals, luminously white containing a fire within, as he moved over her reclining body planting his first kiss on her hip bone. His hot mouth closed on her peaked nipple before she realized that the gemstone was a metaphor for her. She wrapped her arms and legs around his broad shoulders and narrow hips, arching her back to flex against his heated body, feeling her muscular curves trembling under his touch, tasting her own skin. This was better than the entwining they had stumbled upon while on Byss. There was no death and despair bearing down on them to snuff out their light. Just love and pleasure as he rocked into her warm, wet slit and she canted her hips to match his rhythm.

Keening cries mingled with his groans. His tightening muscles matched her fluttering channel. Need gave way to the contracting starbursts, the final thrust before hot spurts filled her, waves of pleasure groaned out in a husky voice, the combined gratification giving her another white-out orgasm to share.

Her eyes rolled back to focus on Luke's sweaty face and she pushed him over to the side before his trembling arms gave way. He bounced against the mattress before embracing her. "Beloved," he murmured and kissed her forehead.

"I love you, Farmboy." She tilted her head back and kissed his lips.


	32. Epilogue

**Four Months Later**

The bustling spaceport under cascading waterfalls at the bottom of the cliff didn't prepare Luke for the city on top of the cliff or the abundance of water. The buildings were human-scaled compared to Coruscant, rounded beige towers topped with blue-green domes were interspersed with blocky buildings. Trees and shrubbery grew out of planters or patches of ground left free of paving material filled in the spaces between the buildings. Flowers and green vines wrapped around the countless columns decorating all the buildings, creating railings between the streets and the river branches, and holding roofs over walkways between buildings.

Their hotel suite faced the Solleu River that ran through Theed. The bedroom and living space were warmed by the wooden floors and trim that framed the transparisteel wall between the rooms and the sun-drenched balcony. Korora bounced off the lounge chair and ran to the balcony railing before climbing into the chair for the small dining table. Luke watched her go with a smile on his face. Apparently the small luxury shuttle he had bought for the trip still hadn't had enough room for Korora to run off her energy. They didn't have to keep it; Mara had nothing but complaints after piloting it.

The comm unit signaled for attention. Luke sighed as he turned from the window to the machine on the wall behind the indoor dining table. He felt Mara's pique through the bond before he heard it in her voice along with the unspoken accusation that it was his fault. "If that's Coruscant tracking you down, I'm answering it and defining personal leave and vacation to the idiot on the other end."

Artoo swiveled his dome, watching Luke's progress to the comm unit next to his dome, but didn't detach from the dataport.

"It could be for you just as easily as me." Luke frowned as he looked at the indicator screen. It was addressed to him.

"No," she said with a false sweet note in her voice as she stepped out of the walk-in wardrobe the suite had. "I explained to everyone I deal with that they wouldn't like the consequences if they interrupted this trip. Plus I worked my ass off during the last four months so no one will have a reason to call."

"Huh, I didn't miss your ass last night." He smirked at her approving amusement, even though she couldn't see it. "It's originating from Naboo." Luke accepted the comm, hoping it wasn't local news correspondents. A young boy's voice spoke. "Please hold for King Moicas." Luke straightened in front of the comm unit but shrugged at Mara's confusion.

The face that appeared in the projection was a young teenage boy. His face was caked in white paint with a red upper lip and a red line bisecting the lower and swirly black lines decorating his cheekbones, temples, and brow above his eyebrows. His hair was hidden behind a golden and jeweled headdress. "Welcome to Naboo, General Skywalker. I hope this visit is fortuitous and not portentous."

It took Luke a second to parse that. "I've come to Naboo for personal reasons, not for Jedi or New Republic concerns." He left unexplained that the mother of his daughter blackmailed him into it.

King Moicas nodded gravely. "I do not wish to intrude upon your leave, but I do have a matter of concern that is best discussed in person. Are you familiar with Naboo's naming tradition?"

"No, I haven't heard of it."

"Children who are born on a Name Day are given a second name to reflect that. Most of the Name Days honor our former monarchs. Only one did not, the one we had to deny to keep the honor hidden from the Empire. I wish to see this honor restored during my term, but the name does not belong to just Naboo, but to he who carried it and his family and to the Jedi Order to which he belonged."

Luke's eyebrows drew together as he used everything from Leia's speech writing to understand what the King was hinting at. What he comprehended had to be confirmed. Mara braced him mentally. "Naboo gave Anakin Skywalker a Name Day?"

"Yes," King Moicas' voice brightened. "The Thirteenth Day of the Fifth Month, the Battle of Naboo when his heroics saved our planet from the Trade Federation. May I impose upon your personal leave for a private meeting to discuss this?"

There was no disagreement from Mara. "Tomorrow is free for us, as long as my family is welcome to come."

"Of course. We shall expect you at the Palace at 1000 local time. Thank you for your consideration, General Skywalker."

"May the Force be with you." Luke blinked at the comm unit after the holovid winked out. "I knew Leia should've come with us."

"You can't blame her for wanting to spend this pregnancy at home." Mara settled into the red, oversized circular lounger and swiveled it to face him as he moved around the dining table. "And she's been as busy as we have been cleaning up Sidious' mess."

"I don't blame her. It'd be easier to make a decision about what to say if she were here."

"She brought up going public first."

Luke nodded. "But we didn't set a time frame."

"You can't comm her now; it's the middle of the night on Coruscant." She smirked. "You aren't getting out of our deal that easily."

"I agreed to your blackmail."

"Oh, stop calling it that. You want me to teach at this Jedi Academy you want to start and this is my price."

He moved to the chair and braced himself on the armrests as he leaned over her. "You drive a hard bargain, Trader Jade."

"I'll let you start introducing me as a Jedi too." Luke gaped at her. She had been adamant about not announcing that to anyone given who she works with. "I've been laying the groundwork for it." She said before pulling him down for a kiss.

They gathered Korora and Artoo and left for today's destination before they got distracted physically. The streets of Theed had vehicle-only routes, limiting the narrow avenues in the historic core of the city to pedestrians. The townhouse wasn't too far away to tire Korora. She caught Luke's right hand and Mara's left and swung between them instead of walking.

Artoo beeped for Mara to check her datapad. She pulled it out before Luke prompted her. "Ah, details on your property here."

Luke frowned. "Visiting King Moicas will push back scouting it."

"We have the rest of the week on Naboo to get there." She read off her datapad. "Varykino was rental property until the beginning of the Clone Wars when Senator Amidala bought it. Her will and testament left it to one Anakin Skywalker."

"And when Darth Vader showed up to claim the property, nobody argued." He mentally nudged Mara so they both lifted Korora's swinging body higher between them.

"That transfer went through the Moff's office, but by that point nobody argued over an estate that the Imperials wanted."

Luke twisted to let a passing pedestrian have more room. Korora dropped her feet on the ground and pouted. "We're almost there." Korora sighed and swung their arms instead, trying to create a wave pattern. "Master Oligard said all he has ever done was approved keeping the same family on as caretakers. He doesn't like leaving Coruscant."

Mara tucked her datapad away. "This is the street, right?"

Artoo whistled affirmative as they turned onto a narrower avenue. They passed under an arch supporting a walkway that connected the buildings on both sides of the street and found a small flight of stairs up to a door set with a view up the avenue. Flowerpots holding colorful blooms were set on the steps and the ledge shielding the stairs from the avenue. "I'll get it!" Korora dropped both their hands and dashed up them, hitting the door annunciator before Luke reached her.

"We missed a button to tell her not to push," he muttered to Mara as she joined him a few steps below the door landing. Before Mara could answer, the door slid open before a fair-skinned woman with dark brown hair. She was older than Aunt Beru when she had died but didn't look as worn as the Tatooine woman had. He tucked away the pain of the past before speaking. "Sola Naberrie? I'm Luke Skywalker and this is Jedi Mara Jade and our daughter Korora Jade-Skywalker. We believe your sister Padmé Amidala was my mother."

 **The End**

* * *

 **Author's Note:** This Epilogue gave me fits! First off, I reached it just when the busy time started at my paying job. They're okay with me writing as long as my job duties are done but my amount of free time shrank. Second, once I figured out how to expand what will happen on Naboo without a trip out to Varykino and got the chance to write it, I set it all on the ship. I did realize that wasn't working so I moved the first scene to their hotel room. I really don't get why the last scene of the whole story is the one that gave me the most fits after Anor.

General Skywalker - Yes, Luke re-enlisted. Partially inspired by _Dark Empire_ canon and partially from my own developments. Luke would do it to spare Mara and Kam from dealing with scanning for and fighting with Dark Side users and the New Republic military.

Naboo's naming tradition was born out of another fic idea, which will become _Unexpected Consequences_ when I get around to writing it. When I reached this scene I thought I wouldn't write it, so I incorporated it here. The monarch's birthday becomes their Name Day. If it was already a Name Day, it now belongs to the new Monarch. The second name can be anything that honors the Name Day person: the birth name, the regal name, a shorter version of either are the most commonly used. The second name is a lot like we treat middle names, and it's up to the family and individuals how they want to use it on official identity paperwork. Anakin Skywalker is the only non-Naboo to ever be honored with one, and Queen Amidala never informed the Jedi Order that she was doing it.

Battle of Naboo - The events of _the Phantom Menace_ begin on 3:4:14, Fourteenth Day of the Fourth Month 32 BBY, but I couldn't find how much time the events of the movie covers. So I gave it a month between the invasion and Anakin destroying the droid ship.

Varykino - I ignored the EU Legends bit about the mansion being the Naberrie family property. Mainly because it doesn't make much sense for Anakin and Padmé to hide there in _Attack of the Clones_ if assassins just have to look up property records. And "the green place with all the falling water" that Korora was so insistent about going to?

She had a Force vision of Mara and Luke taking her to this meadow as her Mommy and Daddy, which happens on this trip. The Naboo nursery mural is also this location, which led to lots of fun conversation with Korora insisting to go there.

Korora Jade-Skywalker - Since my story is more about Mara and Luke's relationship, I didn't plot out the headache case for the New Republic Children Services bureaucrat. I'm sure you can image how this gentlebeing's day went. They're told the next case is a battle rescue with a celebrity attached. It happens, people get attached to a war orphan they saved, just had a major incursion with the Imperial Remnant, and most of the ranking military members are celebrated Heroes of the Civil War. In walks Luke Skywalker, Mara Jade, and Korora. Yeah, celebrity didn't quite cover this case. And Luke insists on telling the whole truth, which doesn't start sounding crazy until he gets to the freed slave child having Force visions of the unmarried pair parenting her. Mara sees the poor non-Force Sensitive bureaucrat getting lost and attempts to put the issue in a less mumbo-jumbo area by presenting the bill of sale Artoo found and explaining how Korora told them her birth mother was killed by the Karazak Slavers Cooperative. There's no way to find any family to return Korora to, and as a Force Sensitive she needs protection since she was bought to have that exploited. Mara and Luke can protect her from that exploitation and raise her to a well-adjusted adult. That reminds the bureaucrat of how the Jedi Order would take in children, but both Luke and Mara protest that. "We want to be parents," Luke stresses. "And it has to be both of us because I will be re-enlisting into the military until this last crisis settles down. If something happens to me, she still has Mara." And so on. They don't use the mind trick, but the bureaucrat eventually decides it's easier just to give them what they want with scheduled check-ins to see how Korora is adjusting.

Future Ideas - Since I'm having so much fun changing things up in this AU and I don't have an issue writing children, Luke and Mara have a lot of future Skycrawlers coming along. Okay, my third reason for doing it is naming kids after more people. So Korora is adopted and in the following year (11 ABY), Luke and Mara have a wedding ceremony before they have their second daughter Padmé Jade-Skywalker. (Mara got too busy to keep her fertility blocker appointment and Luke's failed on them.) The hyphenated name was kept so Korora wouldn't feel alienated from hers. Talon Jade-Skywalker, their first son, comes along in 13 ABY. Beru, their third daughter, is born 16 ABY. She grows up to look a lot like Daisy Ridley. The adventure written up in "Jade Solitaire" happens. Biggs Jade-Skywalker is born 18 ABY. It was Mara's turn to name, but there were complications and by the time she was coherent enough to consider a name Luke had given the child one. She let Biggs keep it since everyone was already calling him that. Talon Karrde jokes that he's not sending Mara on Yavin 4 supply runs anymore because she keeps returning pregnant. Sansia Jade-Skywalker, their fourth daughter, is born 20 ABY. Han asks with all seriousness if Luke and Mara are trying to colonize Yavin 4 all by themselves. Owen Jade-Skywalker, their third son, is born 23 ABY. Ben Jade-Skywalker is born 26 ABY. Luke says he's named after Obi-Wan Kenobi. Mara says she knew a Ben who wasn't a complete shavit as a trainer. Lando sends the couple a medcenter package so Luke can have a free vasectomy as Ben's natal gift.

I have never liked Yavin 4 ruins being built by the Sith, so out that goes. I do like Yavin 4 being a colony and eventual home of one Poe Dameron, so the Jedi Academy and colonizing efforts develop at the same time. Families are invited to relocate with their Force Sensitive candidate. There are children everywhere (not just Jade-Skywalkers) and enough adult Jedi apprentices to keep an eye on them.


End file.
